Ancelotti’s reign ends as Napoli turn to Gattuso

MILAN: Carlo Ancelotti’s reign at feuding Napoli came to an abrupt end on Tuesday as the veteran coach was sacked despite a 4-0 win over Genk sealing their spot in the Champions League last 16.

The 60-year-old was set to be replaced by his friend and former AC Milan player Gennaro Gattuso, 41, later on Wednesday. Napoli finished second in Group E, one point behind Liverpool, to break a nine-match winless run that came amid dressing room unrest and friction between the club, Ancelotti and the players.

“Napoli has decided to relieve Carlo Ancelotti of his role as first team coach,” the Italian side said in a brief statement on twitter two hours after the game. The former Real Madrid, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach had been defiant after the game.

“Resignation? I have never resigned in my life and I never will,” he said. The club have been in turmoil this season amid a row between club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis and the players after a series of disappointing results.

The players refused to go on a training camp after a 1-1 draw with Red Bull Salzburg in their Champions League group. De Laurentiis responded by freezing payments of players’ wages, with stars including Kalidou Koulibaly, Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon, Allan and Lorenzo Insigne reported to be linked with January exits.

The club sit seventh in the Italian top flight on 21 points, 17 points behind league leaders Inter Milan and, more worryingly, eight behind fourth-placed Cagliari, who hold the final spot for next season’s Champions League.

In 18 months Napoli have gone from Maurizio Sarri’s slick style of football to a team scrambling to save their season. Hopes had been high with the arrival of the much-travelled and trophied Ancelotti on a reported salary of six-million-euros ($6.6 million).

He joined in July 2018 boosted by three Champions League titles as a coach, two with AC Milan and one with Real Madrid. “I would like Ancelotti to stay here for many years, like (Alex) Ferguson at United. He is a winner and stability is good for our project,” De Laurentiis had said.