Napoli name Gattuso as coach to replace Ancelotti

Former AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso before the match.[Courtesy]

Napoli named the famously combative former Italy midfielder Gennaro Gattuso as their new coach on Wednesday in an apparent attempt to restore discipline to a team who have lost their way after a promising start to the season. The 41-year-old will replace fellow Italian Carlo Ancelotti, Gattuso’s former mentor who was sacked on Tuesday hours after Napoli beat Belgian side Genk 4-0 in the Champions League to reach the last 16 of the competition.

“Welcome Gattuso,” the club said on its Twitter feed with a picture of the new coach.

Ancelotti’s dismissal followed a turbulent two months in which his side went nine matches without a win in all competitions.

At one point, Ancelotti criticised a decision by Napoli’s flamboyant owner Aurelio De Laurentiis to confine the squad to a training camp for a week.

The players broke off the camp halfway through, refusing to stay in the hotel although they continued to train.

Italian media said the players were fined between one quarter and one half of a month’s salary, although the club has declined to comment on the reported sanctions.

Gattuso, a World Cup winner in 2006, spent 13 seasons of his playing career at Milan — several of them under Ancelotti — where he also had his first Serie A coaching experience.

He was appointed Milan coach in November 2017 and left at the end of last season with two years to run on his contract after they finished fifth in Serie A, just missing out on a place in the Champions League.

Gattuso previously coached Swiss side Sion, Greek club OFI Crete and third-tier Italian side Pisa, where he won promotion.