Tag: Napoli

Napoli mocked its own star striker on TikTok. He’s not happy.

Victor Osimhen’s agent has threatened to sue Napoli over the video

Victor Osimhen’s agent said he “reserves the right to take legal action” after Napoli posted, then deleted, a video on TikTok mocking its own star striker.

The video poked fun at Osimhen for his second-half penalty miss on Sunday in a 0-0 draw with Bologna.

“What happened today on Napoli’s official profile on the TikTok platform is not acceptable,” Roberto Calenda said on X (formerly Twitter).

“A video mocking Victor was first made public, but now belatedly deleted. A serious fact that causes very serious damage to the player and adds to the treatment that the boy is suffering in the last period between media trials and fake news.

“We reserve the right to take legal action and any useful initiative to protect Victor.”

The video in question is, well, strange.

Also strange: the decision to further poke Osimhen, who shouted at coach Rudi Garcia when he was subbed out against Bologna, and has been consistently linked with a move away from the club.

Napoli cruised to the Serie A title last season behind Osimhen’s 26 league goals, but the club’s title defense is off to a rocky start. The Partenopei have a 2W-1L-2D record in their first five league matches, and there are already reports that Garcia — who took over from Luciano Spalletti in the offseason — could be facing the sack.

If there were any questions over Osimhen’s current mood, those were definitely answered when he arrived at the team hotel on Wednesday — and totally left his teammate Diego Demme hanging.

Things in Napoli: not great!

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Napoli president wants to sign an American, doesn’t think highly of MLS

The Serie A champions have been linked with two USMNT players this week

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said he’s hoping to sign an American player, taking a swipe at MLS in the process.

De Laurentiis just watched his side achieve a historic Serie A title, winning the Italian top flight for the first time in 33 years. Looking ahead to next season, the president said he’d like to add players from two countries for Napoli’s title defense.

“I would like to add more players. I would like to have an American, because in America even if the league is worth little, there are great players who shine in the national team,” De Laurentiis told La Repubblica.

“And then a Japanese player, already having a Korean in the team (Kim Min-jae), since there is great development of football in the East and there are new names to consider.”

Which American could Napoli sign?

Napoli has been linked with two USMNT players in the past week.

Corriere dello Sport said that Christian Pulisic is on the club’s radar, with the USMNT star widely expected to leave Chelsea after a disappointing campaign.

On Friday, AreaNapoli.it reported that Napoli had reached out to representatives of FC Dallas and USMNT striker Jesús Ferreira. The 22-year-old could reportedly be available for a €12 million fee.

Though there were as many as four Americans in Serie A last season (Weston McKennie, Gianluca Busio, Tanner Tessman, Bryan Reynolds), there is only one currently in the Italian top flight: Sergiño Dest. However, the AC Milan right back hasn’t played since January and he’s expected to return to Barcelona when his loan ends at the conclusion of the season.

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Napoli crowned Serie A champions, ending 33-year wait

It is party time in Naples

After 33 long years, Napoli is back on top in Italy.

The Neapolitan club sealed their third-ever Serie A crown with a 1-1 draw at Udinese on Thursday.

The result pushed them up to 80 points, one more than anyone else in the league can manage despite there still being five rounds of matches to play.

With frenzied Napoli fans packing large swaths of the stands at Udinese’s Stadio Friuli, Victor Osimhen’s 52nd-minute equalizer gave them the draw they needed to go beyond the reach of second-place Lazio and clinch the club’s 10th top-tier trophy.

Despite being the away team on the day, the full-time whistle saw fans in light blue and white hop out of the stands to celebrate on the pitch with players and team staff.

The scenes were similar in Naples. Fans began spontaneously celebrating in the street, while across the city fireworks and flares were being lit up to start what figures to be a multi-day party.

Long road back to the top of Serie A

Napoli has had a long climb back up to the top in Italy. After winning Serie A twice during Diego Maradona’s years with the club, they fell on hard times, suffering relegation to Serie B in 1998. After a brief spell as a yo-yo club, they dropped all the way to Serie C1 in 2004 for two seasons before beginning a healthier trajectory in 2007.

Under Luciano Spalletti — who had never won the league despite winning more matches than anyone else in Serie A over the last 29 years — Napoli clinched a spot in the Champions League last season before this year’s march to the championship. Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia have sparked Serie A’s most prolific attack, while Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Kim Min-jae have bolstered a defense that has conceded fewer goals than any other team in the league.

Naturally it was Osimhen who scored the goal that finished the job, showing composure to fire a rebound home early in the second half after Udinese had taken a first-half lead.

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Champions League draw: Real Madrid, Chelsea paired up in quarterfinals

Some enticing pairings are in place for the last-eight

UEFA has conducted the draw for the rest of the 2022-23 Champions League, charting a course from the quarterfinals onward.

The last two tournament winners, Real Madrid and Chelsea, were paired in one quarterfinal, while Manchester City and Bayern Munich were put together for another titanic clash. An all-Serie A battle between Napoli and AC Milan also came out of the pot, while Benfica will face Inter in the round’s final match-up.

The Champions League will play out over the next three months, with the quarterfinals set for mid-April. The semifinals will take place in mid-May, while the Champions League final is scheduled for June 10 in Turkey.

Here are the quarterfinal pairings:

How is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia real?

Napoli is having its best moment since Maradona thanks in part to Kvaradona

Napoli is running away with the Serie A title race, and one of the biggest reasons is a previously unknown player from Georgia who has quickly become one of Europe’s biggest stars.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was signed last summer from Georgian side Dinamo Batumi for a reported fee of €10-12 million. It already looks like one of the biggest bargains in recent transfer history.

The 22-year-old has taken Serie A by storm this season and on Friday, he had perhaps his finest moment in a campaign full of them.

The man they call “Kvaradona” scored a stunning individual goal against Sassuolo, showing his full array of talents in just in one play. Kvaratskhelia picked up the ball near midfield and cleverly evaded one challenge, then turned on the speed to get past another. 

From there, he showed his devastating close control, patience and then finishing skills to score one of the goals of the season in Serie A.

With Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen in amazing form this season, Napoli is closing in on its first Scudetto since Diego Maradona led the club to the 1989–90 title.

The Partenopei are also looking like sleeper candidates to go on a real run in the Champions League, as they get set to face Eintracht Frankfurt next week in the last-16 first leg.

The glory days of Maradona seem to be returning at Napoli, and Kvaradona is a major reason why the club has returned to the top of the Italian game.

Watch Kvaratskhelia’s solo stunner

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¡La joya del Napoli! Chucky Lozano da triunfo a su equipo con gol y asistencia

La Copa del Mundo de Qatar le llega al Chucky en estupenda forma física y futbolística, algo que sin duda El Tri necesita

Media hora le bastó al Chucky Lozano para hacerse valer con el Napoli y a dos minutos de entrar al terreno de juego convertir por la vía penal el primero de la noche y cerca del final dar el pase para el segundo y definitivo.

El Napoli derrotó 2-0 al Empoli como local y mantiene su ventaja en la Serie A de dos juegos por encima del Milan su más cercano perseguidor en el liderato general.

El mexicano volvió a ser el hombre importante del Napoli esta vez entrando desde el banquillo con media hora por delante a escasos días de presentarse con la selección mexicana que disputará la Copa el Mundo de Qatar 2022.

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Lozano se convirtió en el jugador diferente que el Napoli necesitaba, su entrada al terreno de juego se notó en el super líder de la competencia que de inmediato sintió la pegada, el desborde y el peligro que genera el Chucky con espacios.

La Copa del Mundo de Qatar le llega al Chucky en estupenda forma física y futbolística, algo que sin duda El Tri necesita con los jugadores lesionados que el técnico insistirá en llevar.

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Galería: Los mexicanos en la Champions League 2022-2023

Los jugadores mexicanos ya conocen su destino y para la mayoría de ellos, no es nada alentador

A falta de una jornada para que concluya la fase de grupos de la Champions League 2022-2023, los jugadores mexicanos ya conocen su destino y para la mayoría de ellos, no es nada alentador.

Galería: Los mexicanos en la Champions League 2022-2023

Napoli de Chucky Lozano lidera la Champions League con clase

Este equipo marcha perfecto en Champions y puede culminar un temporada histórica de mantener el ritmo tras la pausa por la Copa del Mundo

Vaya campaña está teniendo el Napoli de Luciano Spalletti, son líderes de la Serie A con un partido de ventaja sobre el AC Milan y lideran ni más ni menos que la Champions League.

El equipo del Chucky Lozano lo volvió a hacer, goleó al Rangers 3-0 en el Diego Maradona y mantienen su paso perfecto con cinco triunfos en la misma cantidad de encuentros y una ventaja de dos goles sobre el Bayern Munich el otro equipo con todos sus juegos ganados.

El Napoli acumula una racha de 12 partidos consecutivos con triunfo, algo que no sucedía desde la época de Maradona en los años ochenta, para tomar dimensión del tamaño de campaña que está haciendo el equipo del sur de Italia.

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El equipo juega a lo que Spalletti busca, orden defensivo y explosividad al frente a la hora del desdoble. El Napoli es letal al contraataque y el estilo de juego dinámico y veloz se acomoda perfectamente a los jugadores que tiene en su nómina.

No solo es Lozano el gran referente de este gran equipo, está el “Cholito” Simeone que hoy le hizo un doblete a los escoceses, Zielinski el polaco, Politano o el propio Raspadori que ya sea de titular o de recambio lo hace siempre bien.

Este equipo marcha perfecto en Champions y puede culminar un temporada histórica de mantener el ritmo tras la pausa por la Copa del Mundo de Qatar 2022.

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Chucky Lozano y Jorge Sánchez anotan gol y son los mexicanos destacados en Europa

Gran fin de semana para Chucky Lozano con el Napoli y Jorge Sánchez con el Ajax pues sus equipos ganaron y contaron con gol de los mexicanos

Gran fin de semana para Chucky Lozano con el Napoli y Jorge Sánchez con el Ajax pues sus equipos ganaron y contaron con la aportación goleadora de los mexicanos.

El Chucky Lozano marcó su tercer gol consecutivo en tres partidos con el Napoli, marcando en Champions League y en la Serie A donde su equipo mantuvo el liderato del campeonato y el mexicano marcó el 2-1 parcial del 3-2 final con el que los del sur de Italia vencieron al Bolonia.

El volante mexicano del Napoli aprovechó un rebote en el área y casi sin ángulo mandar la pelota al fondo de las redes para permitir que su equipo retomara la ventaja en el marcador al comenzar la segunda mitad.

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Para Jorge Sánchez su gol con el Ajax significó su estreno como goleador en el futbol europeo en la goleada de su equipo 7-1 al Excelsior.

El mexicano también aprovechó un rebote del portero rival para de primera instancia mandar el balón al fondo de las redes y celebrarlo de manera muy especial con su compatriota Edson Álvarez quien lo felicitó y le dijo palabras al oido.

Incluso la cuenta del Ajax destacó la labor de los mexicanos en el terreno de juego posteando una frase “Viva la Mexico” en agradecimiento al gran partido que brindaron los jugadores aztecas de los de Ámsterdam.

 

 

Chucky Lozano fue elogiado por prensa italiana tras golazo en Champions

La gran actuación del mexicano Hirving Lozano anoche en Champions League ante el Ajax, no pasó desapercibida por la prensa italiana

La gran actuación del mexicano Hirving Lozano anoche en Champions League ante el Ajax con un golazo incluido, no pasó desapercibida por la prensa italiana quien llenó de elogios al mexicano.

La Gazzetta Dello Sport, uno de los diarios más importantes de Italia calificó al Chucky como “un bombazo” además de destacar su buena actuación ayudando al Napoli a ganar el encuentro.

Il Corriere dello Sport destacó el empuje de Lozano por la banda derecha “Volvió loco a Bassey, quemó la derecha y hasta pudo hacer otro gol. Pero está bien, muy bien”.

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Otro diario como Il Mattino destacó que el Chucky “Ganó fácilmente el duelo con Bassey. Apoyó a Di Lorenzo en la fase de no posesión, con generosidad y enjundia”.

El Napoli vive un presente de ensueño encabezando la tabla general de la Serie A que en nueve fechas sigue invicto en el campeonato italiano, además de ser el mejor equipo en cuatro fechas de la Champions League ganando todos sus encuentros con paso perfecto y mejor diferencia de goles, incluso que el Bayern Munich que es otro de los invictos.

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