News about Walter Mazzarri

PETE JENSON: The Champions League last-16 sets two of football's top basket-case clubs face each other tonight. And with neither party able to consider the implications of an early departure from Europe, the stakes have risen notably over any other knockout game at this point. Last season, Barcelona and Napoli both won their leagues, but the trend has been downward ever since. And if anyone is knocked out, the descent will only get steeper and more rapid. This was supposed to be the match when the losing team fired their coach, but Napoli had already dismantled that story but had to find their firing and recruiting early.

ALVISE CAGNAZZO IN ITALY: Another weekend of Serie A action has passed by, and Inter Milan's was a fruitful one, defeating Roma 4-2 at the Stadio Olimpico. Juventus beat Udinese 1-0 home, extending their lead at the top of the table to seven points. In the meantime, AC Milan came close to a point behind Massimiliano Allegri's men with a 1-0 victory over Napoli, and Atalanta, Bologna, and Fiorentina all won, bringing their Champions League positions to a close second.

Inter Milan remain at the top of Serie A after cruising to a 5-1 victory over Monza away from home, with the result putting more emphasis on their nearest challengers Juventus. Rivals Milan remained third in the table after winning a 3-1 victory over Jose Mourinho's Roma at the San Siro, while Napoli defeated Salernitana in their derby, despite late claims. The late victory lifted the heat on the champions under fire boss Walter Mazzarri.

Napoli defeated Cagliari on Saturday, with Victor Osimhen contributing to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's winning goal. During the early goings at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Walter Mazzarri's side found it difficult to knock down the Serie A champions, with the game goalless at the time. The game stalemate raged into the second half before it sparked with a frenetic pace after Osimhen netted an opener on 69 minutes.

Inter Milan reclaimed their position in Serie A after drawing with Juventus. ALVISE CAGNAZZO: Serie A football returned from international break with a bucket load of goals. It was also a welcome return to form for AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who made a critical stoppage time save to deny Fiorentina at the San Siro. Mail Sport delves into all the latest Italian top-flight action with ten things we learned in Serie A.

PETE JENSON: This week, there was nostalgia and romance in Naples. Fabio Cannavaro has acquired the club's old training ground and plans to convert the wasteland, which has been disused for 20 years, into a center of excellence for young Napoli players. Cannavaro was a youth student at the Centro Paradiso in the 1980s - Diego Maradona was the first team's ace - there's now a mural of the Argentine with his then teenage daughter Dalma on one of the crumbling walls. 'I want to restore it to its youthful look for the young people of the neighborhood,' Cannavaro said. 'The goals I had when I first started playing here were beyond what I had expected.' I used to go to training on the Vespa that the woman who is now my wife lent to me, and then I switched to a Fiat Uno. "I was already living the dream." Just as nostalgic, but nowhere near as romantic has been the club's decision last week to fire former Watford boss Walter Mazzarri, who ruled Napoli from 2009 to 2013.

ALVISE CAGNAZZO: Amazing but true. Walter Mazzarri has returned to the Napoli dugout a decade after leaving the club that has shown him the most affection during his time in life. In his first spell as governor, he came close to winning the Scudetto, but he hasn't been in charge of a top manager's position for the past ten years. Mazzarri is regarded as a man who thrives in adversity, but he has been given only a seven-month contract, knowing that his deal will not be extended at the end of the season.

Napoli ranks fourth in the table, ten points behind Inter Milan, and chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis pulled the trigger after a winless run of four games. Mazzarri's role is to ensure that Napoli are immediately more competitive in the league and that they do not advance to the Champions League group.