NAPOLI head coach Walter Mazzarri has promised to always ‘protect’ Victor Osimhen as the Super Eagles striker will not be available for the club for weeks due to the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Serie A champions host Monza at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona tonight without the suspended Matteo Politano and Osimhen, as well as the injured Natan, while Jesper Lindstrom and Stan Lobotka are not fully fit.
Nigeria’s most potent forward and African Player of the Year Osimhen has already left Italy to prepare for AFCON, which will be held in Cote d’Ivoire from January 13 to February 11.
“I thank the fans. I know the stadium will be sold out and I am happy to know our fans are supporting us. You know a few players are out, but we must play a great game,” Mazzarri said at at his pre-match press conference yesterday.
“I don’t expect a revolution because it’s something you can’t do in January.
“You know I prefer the club to talk about transfers, I want to help the players regain the same confidence as last season. We need to be balanced and we must avoid errors.
“I came here to help and I want to do it until the end. It hurts not to have earned two or three extra points that would have helped us. We deserved more against Juventus and Roma.
“The game against Monza is very difficult. Lazio play with our same system and they struggled against Monza. They play well and Palladino is an excellent coach. I don’t think about the transfers.”
On Osimhen, who was sent off against Roma last week, Mazzarri said: “Perhaps he felt the pressure after such a great season.
“Unfortunately, he was returning from an injury, and now he will play in the Africa Cup of Nations. I pardon him [for the red card] because he must be protected.”
“I like both Osimhen and Raspadori but to play them together means changing the system. We also need a striker from the bench, so we’ll see who starts (against Monza).”
Osimhen, who celebrates his 25th birthday today, was the top scorer in Serie A last season as Napoli won their first Scudetto in 33 years, and he signed an extension to his contract last week.
