Dries Mertens reveals why he decided to sign a new contract with Napoli just hours before winning the Coppa Italia. ‘This squad, the coach, staff, and the city…’
The Partenopei pushed Juventus all the way in the Final this evening, eventually emerging triumphant after a penalty shoot-out.
“We gave our all because we want to achieve something truly special,” ‘Ciro’ Mertens told RAI Sport.
Dries Mertens reveals why he decided to sign a new contract with Napoli just hours before winning the Coppa Italia. ‘This squad, the coach, staff, and the city…’
The Partenopei pushed Juventus all the way in the Final this evening, eventually emerging triumphant after a penalty shoot-out.
“We gave our all because we want to achieve something truly special,” ‘Ciro’ Mertens told RAI Sport.
“We all stayed behind in Naples during the lockdown, the staff did great work with us and we were ready to go. When you play in Naples, it’s truly special and the fans are wonderful, but we won as a team tonight and the victory started during the quarantine.”
Mertens was expected to leave this summer, as his contract was running down with offers from Inter, Chelsea and more, but he signed a new two-year deal today.
“I thought long and hard, but this squad, the coach, his staff – as let’s not forget it’s not just Gattuso – are spectacular for those who play here. Then there’s the city…
“For me, a lockdown was like a vacation, I was so happy just being in Naples. That’s when I decided to sign the contract.”
Napoli certainly are transformed since Carlo Ancelotti was fired in December to make way for Gattuso, so what changed?
“I think the passing from the back, the tactics in a 4-3-3 are more suited to our football. With Ancelotti, we had done well in the Champions League, but I think the way we won today and celebrated, you can tell the desire to win that we have.”