Napoli complete the appointment of Walter Mazzarri

Serie A champions Napoli have appointed Walter Mazzarri as their new manager.

Following an underwhelming run of results, Napoli decided to part ways with Rudi Garcia, who only just took over from Luciano Spalletti in the summer.

Ex-Olympique Marseille manager Igor Tudor was previously the favourite to take the reins but Napoli have now opted to bring Mazzarri back to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium for the second time.

Mazzarri was previously in charge of Napoli between 2009 and 2013 when he led the club to a Coppa Italia title and a second-place finish in the league.

The 62-year-old created one of the most fearsome counter-attacking teams in European football during his first spell at Napoli where he managed the likes of Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik.

Since leaving Napoli, Mazzari has managed fellow Serie A clubs Inter Milan, Torino and Cagliari, with his only spell outside of Italy coming at Premier League club Watford.

Mazzarri will look to immediately get the ground running for his new employers as they take on Atalanta in their first outing after the international break, before visiting the Santiago Bernabeu to face off against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Napoli’s defeat against Empoli last time out left them 10 points adrift of Inter Milan at the top of the standings after just 12 matches.

The Partenopei will need to string together a good run of results in the coming weeks if they are to keep any hopes of securing consecutive league crowns.