After dismissing Walter Mazzarri, Napoli announced on Monday that Francesco Calzona has been named interim manager until the end of the current campaign.
After Rudi Garcia was fired in November, Mazzarri became the club’s second managerial casualty of the season.
Since Luciano Spalletti left the team following the Scudetto victory the previous season, Napoli’s attempt to win the Serie A title has collapsed, and the team is currently sitting in ninth place in the rankings.
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“I thank Walter Mazzarri, a friend of the De Laurentiis family and Napoli, for supporting the team in a difficult moment,” Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said on his X account.
“He will remain in the hearts of the Neapolitans and our family. Welcome back to Francesco Calzona, who has already worked with us under both Sarri and Spalletti.”
Calzona was Maurizio Sarri’s and Spalletti’s assistant manager at Napoli until leaving the team in 2022 to become Slovakia’s manager and help the team get to the 2024 European Championship.
Calzona’s temporary return to Napoli has been approved by the Slovak Football Association (SFZ).
The national team will play two friendlies in March against Austria and Norway before the competition in Germany kicks off in June.
Having led the team from 2009 to 2013, Mazzarri’s second stint there has seen worsening circumstances since taking over from Garcia in November.
Twelve league games into the season, Garcia was fired.
His team was in fourth place, 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan, and he had won six of those games.
Mazzarri led Napoli out of first place by 27 points with only four wins in his 12 league games.
On Wednesday, Calzona’s first match is against Barcelona at home in Napoli’s first leg of the Champions League round of 16.