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Manchester City's Roberto Mancini: It Won't Be Easy To Lure Cavani, Hamsik & Lavezzi Away From Napoli
The Italian manager has spoken of his admiration for the Serie A side's three star players, as well as praising Lazio's Miroslav Klose and AC Milan's Antonio Cassano
18-Nov-2011 5:00:00 PM
By Stefan Coerts
PROSHOTS
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has admitted that it won't be easy to secure the services of Edinson Cavani, Marek Hamsik or Edinson Cavani as the trio appears to be happy at Napoli.
The Premier League side's chief scout Carlo Cancellieri confirmed on Thursday that they are closely monitoring the three Napoli stars, but Mancini doubts whether their arrival is realistic at this point.
"Who doesn’t want players like Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani? It won’t be easy to lure them away from Napoli, though, especially with them fighting for the Serie A title," Mancini said to Il Corriere dello Sport.
"They’re a great team and have been one of the top teams for a number of years now. They are making steps forward year after year and have some real champions in their squad."
The City boss then looked ahead to the Champions League Group A encounter between both sides on November 22 and stressed that there's no reason to worry for either the Premier League side or Napoli if they fail to qualify for the next round.
Mancini also took the time to discuss Miroslav Klose's form at Lazio and compared the striker's situation at the Stadio Olimpico side to his own time at the club from 1997 until 2000.
"His situation is kind of similar to mine when I arrived at Lazio. I arrived at the club at the age of 33 and gave my all right until the end. We all thought that Klose was perhaps a bit past it, but he’s brought goals and mentality to the team."
The former Inter trainer then spoke of his admiration for AC Milan's Antonio Cassano and hopes for a quick return of the attacker.
"We all breathed a sigh of relief after Cassano’s operation. He has to focus on his recovery first before thinking about a comeback. We will always wait for him on the pitch. I have a lot of respect for him."
Cassano recently underwent heart surgery and is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season.
The Premier League side's chief scout Carlo Cancellieri confirmed on Thursday that they are closely monitoring the three Napoli stars, but Mancini doubts whether their arrival is realistic at this point.
"Who doesn’t want players like Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani? It won’t be easy to lure them away from Napoli, though, especially with them fighting for the Serie A title," Mancini said to Il Corriere dello Sport.
"They’re a great team and have been one of the top teams for a number of years now. They are making steps forward year after year and have some real champions in their squad."
The City boss then looked ahead to the Champions League Group A encounter between both sides on November 22 and stressed that there's no reason to worry for either the Premier League side or Napoli if they fail to qualify for the next round.
“If Manchester City or Napoli go out in the group phase of the Champions League, we shouldn’t be crying. We’re both teams who are on the way up and are aiming for the level of Barcelona and Real Madrid, the absolute top."
"His situation is kind of similar to mine when I arrived at Lazio. I arrived at the club at the age of 33 and gave my all right until the end. We all thought that Klose was perhaps a bit past it, but he’s brought goals and mentality to the team."
The former Inter trainer then spoke of his admiration for AC Milan's Antonio Cassano and hopes for a quick return of the attacker.
"We all breathed a sigh of relief after Cassano’s operation. He has to focus on his recovery first before thinking about a comeback. We will always wait for him on the pitch. I have a lot of respect for him."
Cassano recently underwent heart surgery and is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season.
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