Napoli Gearing Up For Juve Opener
Tuesday 26th September 2000
This is an exciting week for Napoli fans as they eagerly await their first
season in serie A after a lengthy absence. And new signing Giovanni Tedesco
could be in for a memorable debut if he plays in their opening clash with
Juventus.
Before their high-profile opener against Carlo Ancelotti's men Napoli are
hoping for a result of an off-the-field kind. There are still 6,000 tickets
remaining for Saturday's match but they will only go on sale on the day of
the match as the club are hoping that there will be an increase on the
current sales figure of 20,000 season-tickets sales before the big match.
For the opening encounter at the San Paolo, Giovanni Tedesco - Napoli's
25-year-old midfield signing from Salernitana - may make his debut. Tedesco
cost the club �500,000 plus the loan of Emiliano Bigfica for his services
and the young player is grateful for the chance to make a name for himself
in the big time.
"The Serie B championship is prestigious," he said. "But obviously Serie A
is another ball game and it's the ultimate for all players. I haven't spoken
with the coach yet, although I think he already knows what to expect from
me. Anyway, I have already thanked Zeman for the great chance he's given
me."
As they prepared for the Juventus match, the team trained with an almost
full compliment of players. Even Jankulowski seems to have recovered from
his injury problems that have kept him out of action for the last week.
But Napoli may not yet have finished in the transfer market yet. Their hunt
for a new goalkeeper is close to an end with Francesco Mancini, their long
sought-after target from Bari, likely to move north after having been
dropped by his manager Fascetti.
