‘Tired ’S palletti confirms Napoli exit, takes year out of game
Milan: Luciano Spalleti confirmed on Monday that he will leave Napoli at the end of the Serie A season ater winning their first league title since the days of Diego Maradona.
Speaking at an event at the Italian national team’s Coverciano training centre, Spalleti said that he would take time away from football and would not be immediately moving to coach another team.
“I need to take some time to rest because I’m prety tired,” Spalleti said.
“I don’t know if you can call it a year’s sabbatical but I won’t be working. I won’t be coaching Napoli or any other team.”
The 64-year-old guided Napoli to their third Scudeto — their first since 1990 — with five matches to play ater a magical campaign in which his team played some of the most thrilling football in Europe.
Napoli’s title triumph was the crowning glory of Spalleti’s long and evenful coaching career which had brought plenty of plaudits but few trophies.
It was his first Italian league crown and first trophy of any sort in Italy since the Italian Cup won at Roma in 2008.
He did win league titles in Russia with Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2010 and 2012.
Spalleti will bow out as Napoli coach on Sunday evening when the newly-crowned champions host relegated Sampdoria at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Italian media report that former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique is the favourite to replace Spalleti next season.
Spalleti’s departure had been expected as both he and Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis hinted recently that a hugely successful two-year spell in southern Italy was coming to an end.
On Sunday De Laurentiis told Italian state broadcaster RAI that Spalleti had asked to go on sabbatical despite having a year let on his contract.
“He’s a free man, he’s given us something and I thank him, it’s right that he does what he wants,” he said on current affairs programme Che Tempo Che Fa.
Napoli exercised an option to extend Spalleti’s contract until the end of next season, but the manner in which it was done -- via email and without discussion between the two parties -- reportedly irked the coach.
nFanP