Rudi Garcia’s former assistant: “He can win the Champions League with Napoli.”

Having pipped erstwhile favourite Christophe Galtier to the Napoli job, Rudi Garcia has secured a prestigious return to management in Europe, making his return to Italian football several months after his departure from Al-Nassr.

The former Roma head coach will have a difficult act to follow in the wake of Luciano Spalletti’s performance, in leading the Campania side to a first league title in 33 years.

However, Garcia’s former assistant manager Frédéric Bompard – who worked alongside him during more than 15 years, including his domestic double at Lille and his time with Roma – believes he can go one better.

Speaking to L’Équipe this weekend, Bompard describes his long-time colleague as a meticulous worker, who values his relationship with the players and looks to play possession-based football with a high press and a fast players on the wings. He argues that despite seeing his reputation in France tumble after his time at Marseille, the head coach deserves to be at the top. For the current Nîmes manager, Garcia can even take Napoli to success on the continental stage:

“Rudi dreams of winning the Champions League, and I think he can do it there, his time has come. Something tells me he’s going to win it with Napoli.”

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin