Tuesday News Bits: A Coppa Finalist and Napoli’s Worries

Palermo have reached their first Coppa Italia final in over three decades. The Rosanero beat AC Milan 2-1 at home, to go through the semis on a 4-3 aggregate score. The side now faces either Roma or Inter in the final at the Stadio Olimpico on May 29th.

Aurelio De Laurentiis and Walter Mazzarri’s tenuous relationship seems to be growing more and more fragile by the day. Mazzarri refuses to commit his future to the third placed team, which doesn’t have the President very happy:

“Mazzarri has a contract for another two years,” pointed out De Laurentiis in a Press conference.
“These are our plans and for the moment we will carry on like this. He knew Napoli’s plans, so must tell us if he’s changed his mind.
“He knew full well from the moment he arrived that our plan was for five-year growth. We have a Plan A and a Plan B, the latter being Champions League qualification.
“Anyone who works with me must accept setting out plans for the future and ambitious projects.
“We also have to stick to the financial fair play strategy, but it’s important to be back in Europe and absolute rubbish to suggest I don’t want to pay big wages.
“I am also fed up of suggestions I won’t give the players bonuses for reaching the Champions League. They have the bonuses written into their contracts and those who did not received a promise from me. My generosity went beyond their contracts.”

So don’t accuse De Laurentiis of being cheap. It’s interesting that Mazzarri has yet to say he’ll be at Napoli next year. Reports suggest he may be headed for Juventus or Roma, should Gigi Del Neri or Vincenzo Montella not stay on past the summer. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

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Category: Serie A