3 reasons Napoli must sack Victor Osimhen's coach Rudi Garcia

Ex-Napoli manager Rudi Garcia and striker Victor Osimhen (IMAGO)

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Osimhen Rudi Garcia

3 reasons Napoli must sack Victor Osimhen's coach Rudi Garcia

Tunde Young 15:47 - 12.11.2023

Napoli continue to struggle under Rudi Garcia and here are three reasons the Frenchman has to be fired soon

Napoli's title defence has not gotten off to the start they hoped for with just six wins from 12 Serie A games so far and three defeats, just one shy of their entire loss tally from last season.

Their latest result, a disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Empoli ensures that the defending champions will enter the international break sitting at least eight points from the top which could rise to 10 points if Inter wins later on.

The bulk of their problems can be traced back to the managerial change which was forced when title-winning coach Luciano Spalletti opted to step down and then was erroneously replaced by Rudi Garcia.

Napoli have been stuck with that mistake for four months now and things may yet get worse if they don't cut their losses and fire Garcia now!

Here are three concrete reasons for Napoli to sack Rudi Garcia.

3 reasons for Napoli to sack Rudi Garcia

1. Poor home form

Napoli have lost four games this season and all of those losses have come at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples.

Napoli manager, Rudi Garcia, says he has enough quality to play without Osimhen. (Photo Credit: UEFA.com')

Il Partenopei have only won two of their eight games at home this season and are currently on a five-game winless streak on home soil.

In that run, Napoli have lost to Real Madrid, Fiorentina and now Empoli while also drawing games against AC Milan and Union Berlin.

Their last home win was two months ago, a 4-1 thrashing of Udinese in September which does not go a long way in inspiring confidence.

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This drop-off is particularly alarming because Napoli had the best home form in Serie A last season as they only dropped 12 points at home in 19 games while this season they have already dropped 11 points in six home games.

2. Failure to get the best out of Napoli stars

From the outside looking in, it never quite looked like Rudi Garcia got a grip on the Napoli dressing room, especially the big-name players.

He has only coached the team for four months and already has public spats with star men, Victor Osimhen and Kvicha Kvartskhelia.

Perhaps as a direct consequence of not taking to the new manager, both Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia have not yet hit their respective levels of excellence from last season.

Reigning Serie A MVP Kvaratskhelia has managed three goals and five assists in 15 games across all competitions this season, numbers that are bad in comparison to his exploits from last season.

Osimhen on the other hand had six goals in 10 games before he got injured, pretty good numbers despite publicly clashing with the manager on his team decisions on more than one occasion this season already.

Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen | Imago

A manager who does not get along with the best players on the team is clearly heading for the sack, the entire situation is less than ideal.

3. Napoli can still salvage the season

Napoli have in truth not been all bad so far though, the panic comes in comparison to Spalletti's work last season and that level can still be attained if they bring in a better coach.

The champions are unbeaten away from home this season with the second-best record on the road in Serie A and currently sit fourth on the log which means European football is still attainable.

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In fact, a 10-point gap with 26 league games still to play is not exactly insurmountable, getting the right manager in could turn their fortunes around and spark a title charge.

With Antonio Conte available and currently unemployed, the serial Serie A winner is the best choice for Napoli to replace the underperforming Garcia.

Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter has also been linked to the job amongst other great coaches who are currently not engaged and would fit in well in Naples.

Hansi Flick was recently fired as German national team boss but his treble-winning exploits at Bayern Munich make him a very attractive candidate for Napoli.

Some other options include Marcelino, Jorge Sampaoli, Julien Lopetegui and in rather unlikely circumstances, Zinedine Zidane.

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