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After three weeks, FC Barcelona will once again face Napoli in the Champions League tonight. However, the Italian team that Xavi will be facing off against this time will be vastly different from the one against which he got a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Round of 16.
Napoli have been able to turn around their form to a significant extent in these three weeks, and a lot of credit for this improvement needs to be laid at the foot of the new manager, Francesco Calzona. The Calabrian coach has been working in various capacities at the club for years, and now has taken a position of greater spotlight and responsibility.
As is the custom, Calzona addressed a press conference ahead of his side’s match against Barcelona. In this presser, he gave some notable comments about the upcoming match against Barcelona. But what will matter the most to Culers will be the two players from the Catalan side that he praised in particular.
As SPORT has reported, the Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong was one of the players about whom Calzona confessed his admiration: “De Jong also excites me, modern, physical, technical. He’s a guaranteed starter, but Barça has a deep squad and the resources to replace him.”
Similarly, the Napoli coach was also full of praise for Lamine Yamal, and expected him to reach great heights in the future:
“Lamine Yamal is 16 years old and he seems like a seasoned veteran when he plays. If he continues like this, evolving at this pace, he will end up being a TOP player.”
Calzona also made clear that he was not afraid of facing Barcelona despite the high stakes that the match tonight holds:
“We’re not afraid to face a strong opponent like Barcelona. Napoli will come out to win the match and play toe-to-toe in both halves. We must avoid making mistakes because it could be fatal; we need to minimize them.”
The Napoli coach is thus the latest to come out and publicly declare his admiration for Barcelona wonderkid, Lamine Yamal. Now, it remains on the youngster himself to showcase once again his talents at the highest levels tonight, especially to help Barcelona achieve one of its key objectives for the season.
