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Another injury sustained by Victor Osimhen on Nigeria duty possibly infuriates Napoli, whose increasing need for results put Rudi Garcia under continued scrutiny.
It feels like much of Rudi Garcia’s Napoli start has been about putting out fires. When Victor Osimhen’s future is not constantly in the media spotlight, the Frenchman has to react to a player’s unpleasant reaction to being withdrawn.
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23:48 - 09.10.2023
Politano joins Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia in rebelling against Rudi Garcia
Rudi Garcia's control over the Napoli dressing room comes into question as Mateo Politano became the latest to publicly disagree with being substituted after Khivcha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen.
Rudi Garcia’s dispiriting Napoli start
Garcia has had to quell rumours about his future with the defending Serie A champions. Those reports are not expected to stop, with Napoli’s results oscillating between decent and disappointing.
The manager’s future was in doubt after the 3-1 loss to Fiorentina before the international break, a defeat that followed the 3-2 Champions League loss against Real Madrid.
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Napoli have now been beaten three times in the opening two months of competitive action under Garcia. For context, the Partenopei’s third defeat in all competitions last season came in January, and even that was a loss on penalties against Cremonese in the Coppa Italia.
Taking 90 minutes of football into account, the club’s third defeat in all competitions came at the start of March — a 1-0 home loss at the hands of Lazio.
Maybe last season was an outlier for Napoli, a club that flattered to deceive for years until Luciano Spalletti’s iteration sauntered to the club’s first Scudetto in 33 years. What has irked this term is the broader absence of the title-winning manager’s attacking patterns, possibly an upshot of Garcia’s attempts to change too much too quickly.
READ MORE: Is Victor Osimhen in for a troubled season under Rudi Garcia?
Caught up in the Frenchman’s underwhelming start to life in Naples is Osimhen, whose latest layoff could be good and bad for Garcia and the Partenopei.
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21:40 - 16.10.2023
Bad news for Nigeria and Napoli as Osimhen is set for a spell on the sideline
Super Eagles and Napoli star Victor Osimhen has been sidelined for a few weeks after sustaining an injury during the international break.
Osimhen’s latest injury and Nigerians’ love-hate relationship with Napoli
Nigerians undoubtedly have a complicated relationship with Napoli as an institution.
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This love-hate relationship was worsened a few weeks back by the club’s social media faux pas and empty club statement that garnered unwanted international coverage but possibly began after Aurelio De Laurentiis’ remarks about the timing of the Africa Cup of Nations and a future reluctance to sign players from the continent who are unprepared to miss out on the continental showpiece.
Those remarks were made in August 2022, angering fans of the three-time African nation, who took umbrage at Osimhen missing AFCON 2021 (held in January 2022).
The centre-forward’s broken cheekbone meant participation in Cameroon was touch-and-go, but his absence was confirmed after contracting coronavirus just before the New Year, ruling him out on health grounds.
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Supporters felt Napoli’s actions were dishonest, and those suspicions were given credence when Osimhen partook in Serie A action at Bologna on January 17, 2022 — two days before the Super Eagles’ final group game against Guinea-Bissau — and five days later against Salernitana (taking place on the same day the West African side lost to Tunisia in the Round of 16).
The feeling that the Super Eagles could have had Osimhen at AFCON persists, and fans hope to have their top marksman available for next year’s finals.
De Laurentiis’ comments after Osimhen sustained a muscle injury in Nigeria’s 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia potentially reignite an already frosty relationship with the club whose medical team reportedly faulted Super Eagles doctors after the striker sustained a shoulder injury representing the West African nation against Sierra Leone in November 2020.
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06:42 - 20.10.2023
Osimhen injury: Napoli president believes only players younger than 22 should be called up for international duty
Despite the ongoing tensions between Osimhen and Napoli, the club's president has rued the striker's absence through injury and called for a reform of international football laws
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15:02 - 20.10.2023
Osimhen edges closer to Napoli exit: Arsenal, Chelsea on red-alert
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen is reportedly moving closer to an exit from Napoli as contract talks continue to stall.
It remains to be seen how Osimhen’s shape in the lead-up to AFCON develops, with some fans’ distrust of the club leading to suggestions he could miss the finals in the Ivory Coast.
In the meantime, Napoli are back in Serie A action, and it will not be out of place to assume last season’s Capocannoniere may have played his final match under Garcia.
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23:00 - 09.10.2023
Report: Graham Potter on shortlist to become Osimhen's new coach
Napoli are reportedly evaluating firing Rudi Garcia, and Graham Potter is said to be on the shortlist of possible replacements.
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Osimhen’s absence and its two-sided upshot for an under-fire Garcia
Garcia remarked on Friday that he has the support of De Laurentiis, who previously debunked rumours that the club considered Antonio Conte to replace the current Napoli head coach.
While those suggestions were inharmonious with the supremo’s desire to continue with a coach who favoured a 4-3-3 with an inclination to be aggressive without the ball after Spalletti’s departure — a line repeated when rejecting the notion that Conte was approached during the international break — there is no smoke without fire.
Performances have been inconsistent, and Garcia has contended with player dissent. First, it was Khvicha Kvaratskhelia showing annoyance after his substitution in the draw at Genoa, and the latest incident saw Matteo Politano visibly irked at coming off before the hour in the defeat by Fiorentina.
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Both incidents bookend Osimhen’s disrespect of Garcia after his withdrawal at Bologna, with the Super Eagle irate that the Frenchman did not play with two strikers.
On the one hand, Osimhen’s absence means Garcia will not have to answer repeated questions about the striker’s future, on-field conduct and performances.
The Frenchman also avoids being put in the unenviable position of being the club’s spokesperson after the inane Tik-Tok posts a few weeks back.
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08:26 - 28.09.2023
We never wanted to hurt Osimhen — Napoli boss Rudi Garcia
Napoli boss Rudi Garcia has defended the club over the recent TikTok video mocking Victor Osimhen.
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20:56 - 27.09.2023
‘He’s gonna do his best’- Garcia on Osimhen and Napoli feud
The Napoli manager has opened up on the online issue relating to Victor Osimhen and his altercation with the forward.
That offers some respite to the beleaguered manager, even if he must find solutions to the Partenopei losing their best centre-forward for several weeks.
The big games Osimhen could miss for Napoli
Reports in Italy suggest that Osimhen could miss four to six weeks of action. A four-week absence rules out the striker until November’s international break, ruling out the striker for the Champions League doubleheader with Union Berlin and a meeting with current Serie A leaders AC Milan.
Missing six weeks makes the striker doubtful for a visit to Atalanta and possibly a visit to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on Real Madrid. A lot could change in a month, but positing that Garcia may not be in situ if results remain inconsistent is plausible.
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06:44 - 01.09.2023
UCL draw: Osimhen’s Bernabeu dream, Chukwueze’s dread and fun Onana-Neuer battle
Samuel Chukwueze’s AC Milan navigating the much-advertised ‘Group of Death’ and Victor Osimhen’s unwillingness to miss out on some fun at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu lead the African narratives after this year’s Champions League group stage draw.
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03:55 - 04.10.2023
Osimhen’s Real Madrid moment slips by as Napoli's marksman avoids spot-kicks
Osimhen — man-marked by Antonio Rudiger — could not capitalise on the one chance that fell his way in Napoli’s 3-2 defeat by Real Madrid and still is not going near penalties.
Osimhen has netted three game-winning Serie A goals, outranking everyone in the top flight, despite the feeling that the campaign has not gone his way.
Time will tell if the Nigerian’s expected month-long absence weakens Garcia’s position, but the Frenchman’s preference would have been heading into a crucial run of games with his best frontman.
Without Osimhen, he may be fighting a losing battle at the Maradona.
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