Napoli Coach Sari: “Ghoulam’s Absence Prompted Decline Of Our Team’s Results In Calcio”

Napoli team coach Mauricio Sari has admitted that the absence of Algerian defender Fawzi Ghoulam since last November has caused a decline in the Italian club’s results in the Calcio and curtailed its chances of winning the league title this season versus the traditional rivals of Juventus, especially after the first draw against Inter Milan in the 28th round of the Italian first-league competition, allowing Juventus to lead by one point over Naples in the overall standings.

“We are not the richest team in Italy, and if Juventus came back strongly and won all  their last matches, we have only to applaud them,” Mr. Sari told Italian media on Sunday, commenting on his team’s waning chances of winning the first-league league title. 

“As for us, we will continue to work with the same seriousness and we will do our best in the next round,” coach Sari said while lamenting over the absence of one of his winning titles, namely Algerian international Fawzi Ghoulam. 

He noted that his absence had a great impact on the team’s declining results and lagging standings. 

Ghoulam is better than substitute defender Mario Roy both physically and technically, and he helped the attack a lot compared to Roy, “adding:” Before his injury Ghoulam was one of the two or three best defenders in the whole world and his forced absence has negatively affected the Napoli team a lot… “.

The Italian media outlets and Napoli supporters strongly criticized Ghoulam’s successor, Portuguese defender Mario Roy, and held him responsible for the recent four-goal loss to AS Roma. 

They also excoriated the club’s management, which have been dragging their feet in bringing a strong replacement for the injured Algerian left defender, pointing out that their team will pay the price for the recent lapses.