Napoli were desperately in search of goals against Fiorentina, but Garcia opted to take out Osimhen
Napoli legend Giuseppe Bruscolotti has criticised Rudi Garcia for substituting Osimhen in the second half of their 3-1 loss to Fiorentina on Sunday, Soccernet reports.
Napoli suffered their second loss of the Serie A season when Fiorentina visited the Stadio Diego Maradona over the weekend. The Partenopeans failed to dominate the tie, and they eventually went a goal down in the 7th minute via a strike from Josip Brekalo.
Osimhen scored in the 23rd minute, but his goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR review. However, he was not to be denied, as he scored a penalty in stoppage time of the first half to make it 1-1.
Osimhen had a good chance to give Napoli the lead early in the second half, but he fluffed his lines. Napoli paid for it minutes later, as Giacomo Bonaventura scored in the 63rd minute to make it 2-1 for Fiorentina.
After going down again, Napoli failed to up the ante. They failed to create much in the final third, and then Garcia surprisingly took off Osimhen for Giovanni Simeone in the 77th minute.
Napoli needed to score, but instead, they conceded again in stoppage time via a strike from Nicolas Gonzalez.
Following their loss, club legend Bruscolotti has ripped into Garcia. He feels the decision to substitute Osimhen was very poor.
“Garcia needs to come to his senses a bit, I see him in total confusion,” Bruscolotti said per Napoli Magazine.
“The players don't want to be in charge, but they want to make it clear that this isn't going anywhere. Garcia must know that if he is losing, he cannot take away Osimhen.”
There are already talks that Napoli have contacted former Marseille coach Igor Tudor as a possible replacement for Garcia. If he does not start winning games consistently, he could be on his way out of Naples soon.
Napoli is too big for Garcia. His pedigree or his resumé does not measure up to where the former coach, Spalletti has kept the team. Many of the players are too big for him take control of the dressing room.
His style and tactics are not good for the team. His substitutions sometimes are horrible especially when he is on the losing end. His naivety on a high pressing at the European championships such the champions League, Europa was on display especially against Real Madrid. He should be shown the way now than later, before the ship wreck
I Concur! This Coach is a Moron. Since that match where he trash talked Victor to the press after Victor gave him full 3 points. And all d idiot cld say was that Victor wasn’t falling back to help defense or defenders. I just shock. Did the defenders fall up to help Victor score the goals he scored or did Victor score those goals with defenders legs?
Or Napoli defenders play free of charge? Dem no de collect salaries? Or dem defenders de share their salaries with Victor, that Victor should b falling back to help them?
Even if a Coach wants to say to his star player after match, olboy abeg de fall back small to support, NA TO GO FOR MEDIA? PRESS? Its either he is racist or insecurity de worry am. Can’t understand why and how a Coach will b beefing such an important player that just achieved so much for himself and by implication the club and even d mumu Coach. Title that has eluded Napoli for more than a decade….
when he substituted Politano that was probably the best player on the pitch against florentina, I just knew the coach was not good enough
Very soon this this racist Coach will know that Victor is bigger than him. When you trash talk your key player, even after winning a match giving you all three points, and all the Moronic Coach could say was that Victor a number 9 wasn’t defending well. Defending bawo?? Was he bought to come and defend ,or score goals and win matches?
Or Napoli defenders, do they come upfront to score goals for Victor? Even if a Coach wanted to say, olboy you no fall bag well for this match, NA TO GO FOR MEDIA?? How can a Coach b beefing his own player, a Star player? They will sack him ,long before they ever consider that for Osihem. Player that any right thinking Coach should b pampering motivating, Idiot wants to rubish him. If Victor with his current status, if he was Italian White Italian (Because this Racist Italians told Mario Baloteli that Italians are not Black), wld this Coach even think it, to send Victor to the bench? For which player??
Oga Coach, your time is up. See where your insecurity don lead U. E fit wan even corner Victor commission or package Italian football Agent for Victor, Victor no gree. Because I don’t understand how any Coach will behave like this to a player who brought such glory to the club after more than a decade
It’s disheartening to see Napoli lose, especially when questionable decisions are made during crucial moments in the match. As a fan, it’s easy to feel the frustration that legends like Bruscolotti express. Osimhen is a strong player, and substituting him at a critical time indeed seems like a confusing move. Garcia needs to reassess his strategies to ensure the team’s talents are utilized effectively. For more details on the match and expert opinions, click here! ⚽️