Costacurta: 'Napoli is stronger than Man City'
"At the moment, Napoli is stronger than Man City and all the other teams," Costacurta told Il Mattino on February 19. "The strongest clubs in Europe have not shown much strength in the domestic league. That's why I believe at this moment, Napoli can dream of winning."
According to the former Italian midfielder, English clubs always have to distribute energy to many arenas, at least in the English Premier League and Champions League. Meanwhile, Napoli are creating a 15-point gap at the top of the Serie A table and can focus on the Champions League, starting with two rounds of the 1/8 round against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Costacurta spent his entire career with Milan, from the youth team to the professional level, except for his first season with Monza on loan. Along with Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta, Costacurta is one of the best defenders in the history of Italian football. With Milan, he won seven Serie A and five C1/Champions League Cups. With Italy, Costacurta reached the final of the 1994 World Cup, where Italy lost to Brazil in a penalty shootout.
Sharing views with Costacurta, Rafael Benitez said that Napoli has a great advantage when it is not physically and mentally distracted for the domestic arena. "When it comes to candidates to win the Champions League, many people will talk about Man City or Real," the Spaniard told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But Napoli also have enough class to impose a position in Europe. I'm not saying Napoli will win the Champions League, but they can."
Benitez emerged in the early 2000s with a defensive and pragmatic football philosophy, when with Valencia twice won La Liga and won the UEFA Cup. He went to England to lead Liverpool in the period 2004-2010 with the culmination of winning the Champions League in 2005. Benitez then also led Inter, Chelsea, Napolo, Real Madrid or Newcastle but only won one more major title during that time. This is the Europa League with Chelsea in 2013.
Napoli played sublime from the beginning of the season when currently leading Serie A with a gap of 15 points over Inter. Main striker Victor Osimhen has fired in the last seven matches and is currently leading the list of top scorers with 18 goals. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is the number one passer in the league with 11 assists and ten goals. "Kvaratskhelia has just started. I believe he has the quality to help Napoli dream this season," Osimhen praised his teammates.
Napoli's opponent in the 1/8 Champions League round, Frankfurt also has a striker in high form, Randal Kolo Muani - who has scored 15 goals in 30 matches this season. "There are no secrets. The whole team is in a good mood and enjoying together," said the French striker.
Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner praised the player: "Muani is a great player, always listening and trying to improve. Sometimes he makes some simple mistakes, but always comes back."
