Garcia was fired by Ronaldo, then why was he hired by Napoli?

When Roma introduced Rudi Garcia as their new coach in the summer of 2013, Daniel De Rossi was serving with Italy's national team. The midfielder seemed perplexed rather than merely astonished. He was unaware of Garcia. He quickly searched Google and found a video of his new employer singing and playing the guitar in "Porompompero."

Given that the club announced Garcia's appointment as Luciano Spalletti's replacement at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Thursday evening, it's safe to say Napoli supporters are feeling similar emotions this morning. Of course, things are a little different now. The supporters are familiar with Garcia, unlike De Rossi, but that is really the main cause of their current astonishment.

De Zerbi was the dream

There is no doubt about it: nobody anticipated this choice. On Thursday afternoon, a few reputable Italian journalists continued to assert that Napoli was making every effort to persuade Luis Enrique to take over. The possible arrival of the Spaniard had been met with delight by many supporters. Although Spain was shocked by Morocco in the World Cup, they weren't the only ones, and he still has a triple from his time at Barcelona.

He wasn't the only well-known coach that had his name attached to the opening. Antonio Conte was taken into consideration, just as he had been a few years prior, despite Julian Nagelsmann's name being mentioned for a while even though he never seemed to be a genuine candidate. Then there was the group of young managers, which included Thiago Motta, Vincenzo Italiano, and Roberto De Zerbi, who was the most exciting to the supporters.

The appointment of the Brighton manager was heralded as the ideal choice since the former Napoli offensive player had perhaps established himself as the most interesting strategist in all of football with a sixth-place finish in the Premier League the previous year. But it soon became apparent that De Zerbi wanted to stay at the Amex and didn't think his job there was finished. Paulo Sousa and Christophe Galtier thus became the front-runners in the Italian press in recent days.

After taking over Salernitana in February, Sousa did a fantastic job. Salernitana avoided relegation very easily, largely because of a ten-game undefeated streak that included a 1-1 tie at the Maradona that halted Napoli's Scudetto celebrations.

Galtier, meantime, is about to become the next casualty of Paris Saint-Germain's poisoned chalice, although he is still regarded as one of the finest managers in France, partly because he was able to lead Lille to the Ligue 1 championship.

Fired by Ronaldo

Napoli, on the other hand, went with one of Galtier's countrymen—the one who had most recently been shown getting fired by Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. It's possible that the couple's relationship was doomed from the beginning. Garcia had made fun of the fact that he had really tried to sign Lionel Messi first during Ronaldo's first news conference in January. Everyone begins to chuckle awkwardly.

However, it would really take a few more weeks before things started to go worse. After his team lost 3-1 to title rivals Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup on January 26, Garcia claimed that a Ronaldo miss had significantly contributed to the outcome, saying it "changed the match." From that point on, their relationship was never quite the same, and on April 9, following a 0-0 stalemate with Al-Feiha, things reached a boiling point.

Garcia after Spalletti feels like a bad joke

At the conclusion of a disappointing game, Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel, and Garcia openly lambasted his squad. He told reporters, "I don't feel happy with the players' performance. "I pleaded with them to play at the same level as the last game [a 5-0 victory over Al-Adalah], but this didn't happen," the coach said.

Four days later, Garcia was fired.

In a social media post, Ronaldo paid tribute to the fired coach, writing that it had been "a pleasure" working with the 59-year-old. However, it was widely believed that the forward was a major factor in Garcia's dismissal because he felt Garcia's tactics were hindering the team's progress.

Ronaldo is undoubtedly difficult to handle, but Garcia had Al-Nassr leading the way before the five-time Ballon d'Or winner arrived in the middle of the season.

However, losing the Pro League with Ronaldo up front is not a good look in the eyes of Napoli supporters. Spalletti's departure was terrible enough, but adding Garcia to the lineup seems like a joke that only their competitors are making fun of.

There is a legitimate worry that he won't be able to duplicate the incredible job accomplished by his predecessor, who was able to take a club that many predicted wouldn't place in the top four and turn them into champions.

Fondly remembered at Roma

Garcia, after all, hasn't claimed a trophy since establishing his reputation by inspiring Lille to an unexpected double 12 years ago. However, it would be a mistake to undervalue the significance of his outstanding performance against Roma.

Garcia finished his first season with 85 points after quickly introducing an appealing brand of play that helped the Giallorossi start the season with 10 straight Serie A victories. He merely had the terrible luck of coming into Conte's centurions.

The next season, Roma finished second to Juve once more before things started to fall apart. Garcia was fired in January 2016 and, ironically, Spalletti was brought in to replace him at Napoli.

But he is still warmly recalled by Roma supporters, not just for his playing style but also for his fiery character.

Four months after suffering a crushing derby defeat in the Coppa Italia final, Garcia gleefully proclaimed: "We have put the church back in the centre of the village" following Lazio's 2-0 victory over them in September 2013.

Then, the year after Roma lost 3-2 to Juventus in Turin, Garcia made his iconic "violin" motion at referee Gianluca Rocchi, thus implying that officials frequently sing from the same hymn sheet when discussing the Bianconeri.

The reasons behind De Laurentiis' decision

Although Garcia's teams often control the ball less than those of Spalletti, the strong anti-Juve emotion will undoubtedly go down well in Naples, and his historical penchant for playing a 4-3-3 means there won't be much of a tactical revolution.

De Laurentiis' choice was undoubtedly affected by formation, as well as apparently by Carlo Verdone, a well-known lover of Roma and a close friend of the film producer.

The fact that De Laurentiis stated that it was "a pleasure" to name Garcia as the new manager "having got to know and spend time with him during the past ten days" nonetheless also makes it evident that there was a human element at play.

That is very important since De Laurentiis' shocking resignation just days after Napoli's first Scudetto victory in 33 years was really caused by the breakdown of his friendship with Spalletti.

'I thank God that we got Porompompero'

However, it is impossible to ignore the size of the challenge before Garcia, especially given the departure this summer of crucial centre defender Kim Min-Jae and the ongoing uncertainty around the future of star striker Victor Osimhen.

The supporters are currently feeling a touch disappointed after Naples' greatest fiesta in almost three decades. Naturally, they believed that Italy's newly-crowned champions ought to have been able to entice one of Europe's top coaches. As a result, they now have a manager who was never even mentioned during the recent rumours about PSG's, Chelsea's, or even Spurs' future manager.

So his recent track record is clearly concerning. But it's important to keep in mind that Garcia overcame Manchester City on his route to the Champions League semifinals three years ago and the Europa League final with Marseille in 2018.

And if Napoli supporters are seeking a glimmer of hope, they should keep in mind that De Rossi exclaimed, "I thank God that we got 'Porompompero'!" six months after that Google search. With someone like him, you can prevail.

Of course, Napoli will have to, not just for Garcia's sake but also for De Laurentiis'.