Napoli must prioritise Serie A or Europa League, hints Mazzarri

Oct 26, 2012 12:45:00 AM

The Tuscan tactician blamed bad luck for his side's second defeat in the Europa League this campaign, while defending his decision to again rotate his squad

Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri has defended his decision to field a largely second-string XI against Dnipro, but conceded that they are finding it difficult juggling both Serie A and the Europa League.

Thursday's team selection was much changed from the 2-0 league defeat to Juventus over the weekend but after two defeats and just the single win over AIK, the Partenopei now sit third in Group F and are in danger of not qualifying for the next round.

“We have to make choices. We were criticised when we played our best side in the Champions League and ended up fifth in Serie A and now we are criticised for rotating the squad," Mazzarri told reporters after the match.

“It’s not as if I used a bunch of kids out there today, as we had players like Blerim Dzemaili and Juan Zuniga, while we have to give Christian Maggio a rest or he risks losing sharpness.

“People criticise and ask why we don’t use Lorenzo Insigne or Edu Vargas more often, but we saw tonight the difference in a step-up between Serie B or the Chilean league to European top-level football.

“We have taken this approach for the first three games. Seeing as we are still in the running for qualification, we will re-evaluate the situation."

Despite losing by a 3-1 scoreline, the former Sampdoria and Reggina boss felt that his side could have got something out of the match, had luck gone their way.

“It’s a great shame and we were unlucky, as we conceded in the first minute with a dubious free kick with Federico Fernandez being dragged down and created many scoring opportunities, especially in the second half,” he concluded.

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached!
Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET!

play

open

Inside Goal.Com

Player Ratings: Siena 1-2 AC Milan
Goal was on hand to judge all the players as Allegri's men finished third in Serie A and secured a Champions League berth next season
Player Ratings: Barcelona 2-1 Valladolid
Goal rates the players on show as the newly-crowned Liga champions cruised past the challenge of Miroslav Djukic's men to keep up hopes of reaching 100 points
Arsenal hold their nerve in top-four battle
Arsene Wenger's side produced a clinical performance to secure a top-four Premier League finish but now they must kick on if they wish to challenge for honours next year
Player Ratings: Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal
Laurent Koscielny's 52nd-minute volley secured the Gunners the win over Alan Pardew's side and made sure they would be playing Champions League football next season
Player Ratings: West Brom 5-5 Man Utd
Sir Alex Ferguson was given a farewell to remember, but certainly not for the right reasons as the Romelu Lukaku-led hosts battled back from three goals down to earn an unlikely point