Reigning Serie A champions Napoli have taken the drastic step of sacking Rudi Garcia as manager and appointing Walter Mazzarri until the end of the season.
Garcia had only been in the post since the summer but has proven to be a disappointing follow-up to Luciano Spalletti, who guided the club to their first league title in 33 years last season.
Napoli currently sit fourth in the Italian top-flight, ten points behind league leaders Inter. A 1-0 home defeat to Empoli on Sunday has proven to be Garcia’s last match in charge.
Mazzarri once threw his hat in the ring for Celtic job
In 2021, as Celtic considered their future direction, Mazzarri made it clear to the Scottish press he was interested in speaking to the Bhoys about their vacant position following the exit of Neil Lennon.
The 62-year-old was out of work at the time following a spell at Torino and told The Sunday Post he would be open to an approach from Celtic.
The Celtic board were locked in a very public pursuit of Eddie Howe at the point and, after that fell through a couple of months later, turned to Ange Postecoglou after he impressed prominent shareholder Dermot Desmond on a Zoom call.
There are no regrets on Celtic’s part, of course. Postecoglou became a sensation in Scotland, winning five trophies from the six available to him domestically including an impressive treble of trophies last season.
It’s nonetheless interesting to see Mazzarri now pop up into one of European football’s biggest jobs. After those Celtic reports, he ended up taking charge at Cagliari in a disappointing spell.
He’s had a stint as Napoli boss before. He was there between 2009 and 2013, helping the Italian club to the Champions League group stages for the first time in 21 years. They’ll be hoping he can be a safe pair of hands that salvages their season.
In other news, Luis Palma thanks Celtic teammate on Instagram after classy gesture.
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