Ancelotti: Napoli call was unexpected

Carlo Ancelotti has revealed he did not expect to be offered the Napoli job, but had no hesitation over taking charge at Stadio San Paolo.

Having been sacked by Bayern Munich in September 2017, Ancelotti replaced Maurizio Sarri, who later joined Chelsea, in the close-season.

But the ex-Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea coach said that although a call from Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis took him by surprise, he had no concerns over whether the job would be suitable.

“I didn’t expect to be called by De Laurentiis,” Ancelotti, who has won seven of his first nine Serie A games in charge, told II Mattino in a live Facebook broadcast ahead of Napoli’s clash with Roma on Sunday.

“I was expecting everything but coming here, I thought Sarri’s adventure would continue. 

“But I was convinced it would be the right choice for me, from the project to the players.”

We came close to a victory. We deserved more, but leave Paris very proud of the work and execution of our players. #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/ClZHwHoqf5

— Carlo Ancelotti (@MrAncelotti) October 24, 2018

Sarri enjoyed two superb seasons at Napoli, guiding them to successive top-three finishes.

And though Ancelotti acknowledged he has a lot to live up to in order to match Sarri’s achievements, he is not concerned about any comparisons with his predecessor.

“The comparison with Sarri never bothered me, I know him really well and he’s loved because of what he did here,” he said.

“He got results through the quality of his game, his team dominated every match.

“An important signal of the work he did in his three years is that the players have great awareness, much more than a lot of their colleagues.”