Ancelotti: My experience can help Napoli topple Juve

Carlo Ancelotti hopes his glittering array of titles across Europe can help Napoli take the next step and end their 28-year Scudetto drought.

Napoli have finished in the top five in Serie A for the past eight seasons and have been Juventus’ main challengers in the previous three.

For large parts of the 2017-18 season the Partenopei were title favourites in Italy but Juve were once again too strong and battled back to lift a seventh successive Scudetto.

Napoli only finished four points adrift of the champions, though, and Ancelotti – who replaced Maurizio Sarri in May – hopes his previous successes can help close to gap to Juve even further.

“I hope to take Napoli on to the top of the Serie A podium,” Ancelotti – who has won titles in Italy, Germany, France and England – told DAZN.

“This squad has a lot of quality and haven’t reached the top of the podium yet, but are very close.

“I hope with my experience and help to take them on that final step.”

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Napoli opened the 2018-19 campaign with a 2-1 victory over Lazio last weekend, and face AC Milan in their first home match of the season.

That will see Ancelotti come up against Gennaro Gattuso, the latter having played under the 59-year-old during his time in charge of the Rossoneri.

“Rino [Gattuso] is still the same in terms of character,” he added. “You can tell from the way his team plays: focused, well-organised, solid, aggressive. Just like Gattuso as a player.

“In some ways I did expect him to become a coach, in others I really didn’t.

“The key uniting all those who go into this line of work is passion and Gattuso formed his whole wonderful career on passion.”