Hamsik: 'Beating Higuain a bonus'

By Football Italia staff

Marek Hamsik “dreams of winning the Scudetto as Napoli captain” and it’d be a “tasty bonus” to beat Gonzalo Higuain’s Juventus.

The Partenopei begin their campaign on Sunday evening with a trip to newly promoted Pescara. Click here for a match preview.

“We can’t wait to get on the pitch, as we had a long pre-season process, are in good shape and happy to be playing Serie A football again,” Hamsik told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli.

“There are very high expectations, Napoli must always aim high and hope to maybe improve upon last season’s position.

“Juventus haven’t won the Scudetto yet. This will be a long marathon that begins on Sunday and we want to get off to a stronger start than last season, when we dropped a few too many points.

“Everyone will want to beat us and we need to be ready for that, because Pescara will cause us problems. Massimo Oddo’s side just earned promotion and we certainly cannot underestimate this test, but at the same time have to play our game.

“Napoli are alive and kicking, we know Maurizio Sarri’s football now and want to improve even more. The new arrivals settled in quickly, so I’ve got positive sensations.”

With Higuain leaving for Juventus and Lorenzo Insigne’s agent complaining about wages, Hamsik has emerged as the true icon of Napoli.

“I am very happy, as it is my 10th year here and it’s not over yet. We’ll see how far I do go, not just in terms of appearances, but also trophies.

“I dream of winning the Scudetto with the captain’s armband and hopefully I’ll achieve that dream. We want to be protagonists in the Champions League too, as this Napoli side was built to be strong on three fronts.

“I tell the fans we are strong. I know that our supporters lost an idol like Higuain, but the team proved that it’s alive and kicking, it’ll give its best and play the same scintillating style of football as last year.

“I tell them not to worry, because Manolo Gabbiadini and Arek Milik are great players and we’ll have a wonderful season.”

All eyes are already looking ahead to October 30, when Napoli visit Higuain’s Juventus.

“It’d be fun to win for the first time at the Juventus Stadium, especially in front of Higuain. Let’s call that a tasty bonus…” grinned Hamsik.

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