Napoli vs Bologna preview - Vargas must wait for Serie A start

Posted Monday, January 16, 2012 by PA

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri is not ready to hand Eduardo Vargas his Serie A debut when his side host Bologna.

Vargas, who joined Napoli earlier this month from Universidad de Chile, made his first appearance for the Italian side in Thursday's 2-1 triumph over Cesena in the Coppa Italia.

The Chilean forward played from the start but failed to make an impact in front of the home crowd.

"I was very upset, as I never really got into the game," Vargas said.

"I will slowly adapt to this new football world and I can only wait for another opportunity to step on to the field."

Mazzarri admitted his mistake for handing the 22-year-old striker his debut too soon.

"Vargas should not have played," Mazzarri said. "I made a mistake to play him so soon after joining the club. A coach of my level should put a player on the pitch once he has adapted.

"We are nevertheless happy that we progressed to the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. We want to honour all competitions we play in."

Napoli, who halted a four-match winless run on the road with a 4-2 triumph at Palermo last weekend, go into the encounter at the San Paolo stadium in sixth place.

Bologna, meanwhile, pulled six points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Catania last time out.

The result left Bologna in 17th position, level on 18 points with Siena.

"It was important to start the year with a win and we did just that," Bologna coach Stefano Pioli said. "Now we need to brace ourselves for a difficult game at Napoli."

The Rossoblu will be without suspended defender Daniele Portanova and injured striker Alessandro Diamanti for the clash at the San Paolo stadium.

Mazzarri will have all his players available, with the exception of injured striker Ezequiel Lavezzi.