[Jager]

Napoli still on survival mission Thursday 20 September, 2007

Napoli stopper Paolo Cannavaro has insisted that the Partenopei’s target is survival, despite taking six points from their first three games.

The Azzurri returned to Serie A after a testing spell that saw the 1989-90 Scudetto winners banished to Serie C after bankruptcy in 2004.

After an opening-day 2-0 reverse against Cagliari, Coach Edy Reja has turned things around in style with a 5-0 thrashing of Udinese and a 2-0 win over Samprdoria.

However, Cannavaro is keen to stop anyone getting carried away at this early stage and believes that stayng afoat will be a challenge

“Our priorities haven’t changed, we are still aiming for survival,” the ex-Parma man stressed. “We have every reason to feel proud of all the hard work we have put in, but there is a long road ahead.

“The best thing is seeing the enthusiasm in Naples and the fans enjoying their time at the Stadio San Paolo.”

The 26-year-old is the brother of World Cup winning captain Fabio and admits that he has leadership aspirations of his own, but not for the time being.

“Perhaps I would like to be the captain one day,” he revealed. “But at the moment we have Francesco Montervino and he is very influential in the dressing room as well as on the pitch.

“The secret of this team is that it has no leader – the word doesn’t exist here. We are all leaders as this is a united group.

“But of course at some stage further down the line I would love to wear the captain’s armband for my team from my city.”

Napoli travel to Empoli’s Stadio Castellani this weekend to face a side still awaiting their first win of the season.

channel4.com - Football Italia