Napoli v Atalanta: Manna says, “Intense weeks, but united team” | OneFootball

Before the Napoli-Atalanta match, the Azzurri's sporting director Giovanni Manna spoke to Dazn's microphones, providing an update on the team's situation and the technical choices ahead of the game.

Napoli, Manna: “Today Lang has the chance to start, we expect answers”

Reflecting on the past weeks, Manna highlighted how the environment experienced a particular moment: “Certainly, there was a lot of emphasis, too much emphasis, and many things were manipulated. That's okay. The team worked well as always and as during the international break. We regrouped on Thursday, we talk about discussions but there are always discussions, even when we win. Especially since we played a bad game in Bologna, losing against a strong team. But we are ready to start again. Many rumors: the coach's resignation, discussions with the club. It's normal to have discussions, you lose a game and the coach sent a warning signal to raise the bar and the tension levels for everyone. So I see nothing wrong with it, we have always been united, cohesive, and compact. Ours is a group of serious guys with values, and they proved it last year and they proved it this year, so we are calm.”

Regarding the tactical choices, Manna explained the novelty of the 3-4-3 formation and the presence of Noa Lang from the start: “It's a matter of necessity because we don't have midfielders, there's only Elmas on the bench and Vergara. We've had a shortage of midfielders, when injuries happen, they all occur in the same area of the field. Last year it was the wingers, this year the defenders and then the midfielders. Joking aside, we are calm. Today Lang has the chance to start for the second time this season, we expect answers. If the coach is playing him, it's because he has confidence. We expect answers on the field.”

Andrea Alati

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.