An isolated Real Madrid fully focused on Napoli
Posted Monday, March 06, 2017 by Marca.com
Ahead of their Champions League last-16 second leg against Napoli, Real Madrid are leaving nothing to chance and isolating themselves from the world.
Zinedine Zidane's men take a 3-1 lead to Italy, but the Frenchman is taking nothing for granted.
Napoli's home ground, San Paolo, is notorious for its hostility and Real Madrid suffered because of it on their last visit in 1987.
In order to avoid a repeat scenario, the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu hierarchy have decided to close off all 146 rooms in the Hotel Caracciolo in Naples city centre.
Only players, staff and board members will be allowed in and out, and local police will patrol the area for the entirety of their day-and-a-half stay.
Zidane wants complete concentration and prefers as little commotion as possible.
On a recent visit to Naples when the Real Madrid chiefs checked out the hotel, they met with local police to discuss measures of protection.
Local authorities decided the players will not walk out of the terminal as normal upon arrival at the airport, but will be picked up on the runway after landing.
Police have warned all travelling fans to take extreme caution during their stay in the city, such is the tension around Naples.
Real Madrid were even asked to change the choice of hotel for their fans as it was in an area with little protection.
The Napoli Ultras are among the most dangerous in Italy, and caused havoc during a recent visit to Istanbul when they played Besiktas.
They are run by members of the notorious Camorra group, who sit in the Curva B of the stadium.
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