Luciano Spalletti offered his apologies to Pep Guardiola after the “grumpy and sensitive” jibe from the Manchester City manager.
- Guardiola praised Napoli after reaching UCL quarter-final
- Spalletti called it a ploy to “knock Napoli down”
- Apologised for his comments after Guardiola described him as “grumpy”
WHAT HAPPENED? Guardiola hailed Napoli as “the best team in Europe” after they marched into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 5-0 aggregate over Eintracht Frankfurt.
However, Spalletti was not too pleased with the praise and looked at it as a ploy to “knock Napoli down”. The media row between the two managers continued as the Man City boss called him “sensitive” and described him as “grumpy”.
WHAT THEY SAID: When pressed to respond to Guardiola once again before Napoli’s quarterfinal match against Milan, Spalletti chose to apologise for his earlier remarks. “Guardiola taught me a lot. Guardiola has taught us all something. For me, Guardiola is comparable to all the fantastic coaches, including Roberto De Zerbi and Jurgen Klopp “He informed the press.
“Guardiola, Klopp and De Zerbi are among the football managers I always look at. So if my expression was misunderstood by Guardiola, I’m sorry because I’m truly happy when a manager like him says good words about Napoli. It would take me days and days to appreciate Guardiola’s former Barcelona.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Napoli and City could potentially face each other in the Champions League final if they successfully negotiate their respective challenges in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The Premier League outfit are the firm favourites to progress to the last four at the expense of Bayern Munich after rallying to a 3-0 victory in the first leg of their quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
(C)Getty Images
Getty
WHAT NEXT? Napoli will hope to build a strong aggregate lead when they take on familiar rivals AC Milan in their Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash at San Siro on Wednesday.
