Sarri admits he would pick Napoli over Juventus ‘out of love’ | OneFootball

Maurizio Sarri admitted he would pick Napoli over Juventus ‘out of love’ if he had to choose which bench to sit on in the Allianz Stadium’s clash between the two sides on Saturday.

As a coach who had stints for both teams, Sarri was asked to comment on one of the most-anticipated fixtures of Serie A Matchday 5, which will see Antonio Conte’s Napoli face Thiago Motta’s Juventus.

In an interview with Alfredo Pedullà, the 65-year-old currently unemployed manager conceded that he has a stronger bond with Napoli due to his history, although he believes the Bianconeri are starting what will be a ‘probably winning’ cycle.

Sarri would sit on Napoli’s bench against Juventus ‘out of love’

In his three seasons at the helm of Napoli, between 2015 and 2018, Sarri’s side finished as Serie A runner-up twice behind Juventus, with whom he would later win the Scudetto in 2020.

But despite failing to win silverware with the Partenopei, his memories of that time are probably better than the ones collected in Turin, where he was sacked at the end of the season after the Bianconeri were crowned league champions.

“I think the values on the pitch are similar, but if I had to choose one bench to sit on I’d pick Napoli’s out of love,” he said.

“I’d choose Napoli because I spent three intense seasons there. I stayed one year at Juventus, and we played behind closed doors for six of those 12 months.”

“It’s clear that my best memories come from my time at Napoli, because I had a different story there.”

Although he thinks it’s still too early to see the two teams’ potential fully expressed, Sarri believes both sides will be competitive, especially thanks to their new signings.

“I think Juventus’ cycle will be interesting and most probably a winning one, but we’re just at the beginning of such a cycle now,” he added.

“Their team will become extremely strong in the future, as both Giuntoli and Motta are accustomed to be at football’s highest level.

“Koopmeiners could be Thiago Motta’s new Ferguson, but both McTominay and Gilmour are great players too”.

“Napoli already had a strong squad that got a season wrong for several reasons, but they’ll compete for the title, although it’s difficult to say whether they’ll win or not as Inter are also very strong.

“Lukaku has never lost his bloom with Conte, he’s always done well and I think he’ll have a good season, he’ll be put in the right conditions to play well.”