Napoli announce French friendly

People have been wondering for awhile now who Napoli would be playing in their pre-season friendlies. With a new manager and new playing system being brought in, the friendlies will be vitally important this summer, because it will allow them to build comfort with new teammates and the new tactics before the season starts.

Now we know who the first preseason match will be against: Ligue 1 side OGC Nice. Napoli will be travelling to France to play them at their home stadium, the Allianz Riviera, on August 2nd. Nice aren't a big club, and certainly pale in comparison to last summer's main friendlies against Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

But Nice also aren't a bad club -- they're a midtable side in Ligue 1, having finished 11th last season, but had some bad luck with injuries and simple fortune that kept them from finishing higher. They'll be a good first test for whatever tactics Maurizio Sarri implements with Napoli, and should provide as informative a match as a preseason friendly can be.

There's been no word yet as to who else Napoli will be playing between that match and the start of the Serie A season, but we should probably be getting some news on that front over the coming week. Who they play will bear close scrutiny, as will the matches themselves as Napoli get used to their new method of playing.