Soccer-Sorry we made you cry, Napoli captain tells young fan

Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne has apologized to a nine-year-old fan after the team's dismal performance in a 2-0 home defeat by Fiorentina on Saturday made the boy burst into tears. The image of the tearful fan with a Napoli scarf appeared during the broadcast of the match and was widely posted on social media, prompting some supporters to suggest it be hung on the dressing-room wall to motivate the team.

Napoli, runners-up in three of the last four seasons, have slumped to 11th in Serie A this term and have lost four of their five league matches since Gennaro Gattuso replaced Carlo Ancelotti as a coach in December. Gattuso described Saturday's performance as embarrassing. "I'm sorry that the result made you cry," Insigne said in a video to the fan, named as Mario, which was posted on several Italian websites.

"We promise that from now until the end we will have a great championship and you will smile with us again. We are waiting for you at the stadium. A big hug."