Marek Hamsik said Napoli must “believe” in their Scudetto chances and relish beautiful football, while he targets a place in Partenopei history.
The captain held a Press conference at their Dimaro summer training camp, which will prepare them for a Champions League preliminary round tie.
“I hope that Piotr Zielinski can become my heir, but first we have to focus on the squad as it is this season,” said the Slovak midfielder.
Marek Hamsik said Napoli must “believe” in their Scudetto chances and relish beautiful football, while he targets a place in Partenopei history.
The captain held a Press conference at their Dimaro summer training camp, which will prepare them for a Champions League preliminary round tie.
“I hope that Piotr Zielinski can become my heir, but first we have to focus on the squad as it is this season,” said the Slovak midfielder.
“We realised there is a lot of optimism around the side this year. We begin the campaign on a par with Juventus. The club did really well to keep all the champions and maintain the squad. This makes us feel even stronger and united. Nobody left and that is further proof that this team wants to achieve its objectives.
“It is the strongest Napoli since I’ve been here, it’s entertaining and plays fantastic football too. The club asked us a favour, which was to cut our vacations a week short, and as professionals we all accepted. This can really help us going forward.”
Coach Maurizio Sarri continues to insist Napoli cannot contend for the Serie A title when Juventus have a much higher revenue, but Hamsik isn’t buying it.
“Sarri is the first to believe in the Scudetto and we can fight to the end. We’ve got to make as few mistakes as possible, because that is the difference between the winning team and the chasing pack.
“Looking at the second half of the season, we have to believe, because from January to May it was an incredible run of results. It won’t be easy, as the Milan clubs have improved a great deal. We’ve got to focus on ourselves and believe.
“Our game is based on beautiful football and smart tactics, as that is our nature. It means 97 per cent of the time, Napoli are wonderful to watch. It’s different at Juventus, for example.
“We showed few weaknesses last season, but did drop a few too many points. The slight crisis in October undoubtedly had an influence.”
That occurred when Arkadiusz Milik tore his anterior cruciate ligament on international duty, as after a month Dries Mertens was rediscovered as an unusual centre-forward. Now that both strikers are fit, what is the best approach?
“They are different, as Arek is a real centre-forward and nobody expected Dries to flourish in that role. He plays the ball well, but then so does Arek, so it’ll be a tough choice for Sarri,” continued Hamsik.
“It’d be important to keep Pepe Reina, as he is a fundamental player for us. Keeping the Coach and the squad intact, we can only get better.”
Hamsik was asked if he’d like to inherit Diego Maradona’s Number 10 jersey once he breaks the Argentine’s Napoli goals record.
“No, the 10 remains untouchable. I’d prefer it if one day my Number 17 was retired, because that’d mean I had a great impact on the history of this club.
“I feel proud that the Milan fans compared me to (Gianluigi) Donnarumma. I remained at Napoli with my heart, I’m proud of myself and want to continue like this. The most wonderful moment will be the one we’ve been talking about for many years…”
What tattoo would Hamsik get if Napoli won the Scudetto?
“The most important tattoo of my life. I’d wait to the day after the campaign to call my tattoo artist.”