How Napoli went from immortal Serie A champions to also-rans in just five months

Hiring Rudi Garcia to succeed Luciano Spalletti always looked like a disastrous move — and so it's proved for the Scudetto holders

The boos began before kick-off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, the home fans furious that Napoli coach Rudi Garcia had left both Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Piotr Zielinski out of his starting line-up for Sunday's Serie A clash with Empoli.

By half-time, president Aurelio De Laurentiis was so displeased with the Partenopei's performance that he felt compelled to enter the dressing room — not for the first time this season — and speak with Garcia and his players.

Kvaratskhelia and Zielinski, two of the protagonists of last season's title triumph, were introduced just eight minutes into the second half of a game that was still scoreless — and the former very nearly broke the deadlock in the 89th minute with a low strike that Etrit Berisha somehow saved with his outstretched left leg.

However, while there was to be a late winner in Naples, it came at the other end of the field, with Viktor Kovalenko brilliantly sweeping home a cut-back from fellow Empoli substitute Tyronne Ebuehi.

The boos began again in earnest, with Napoli whistled off the field by their own supporters after a third home defeat of the Serie A season that left the champions fourth in the table, 10 points behind leaders Inter, and made Garcia's dismissal inevitable. All that's missing is the official confirmation. But the Frenchman boarded a flight to Nice on Monday and if he returns to Napoli at all, it will only be to collect his things.

So, how did it come to this? How did things unravel so quickly for a team that enchanted Europe last season? Garcia only took over in June, after all. But, truth be told, he never looked like