Napoli Season Preview 2014/15 – Consistent reservations

Date: 26th August 2014 at 9:14am
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Napoli LogoThe start of the 2014-15 season marks ten years since club president Aurelio De Laurentiis instigated the rebirth of Napoli after bankruptcy.

During the last decade the Partenopei have progressed from a salvaged side in Serie C1 that once had to train with a football striker Roberto Sosa had in the back of his car to an international organisation that is compliant with financial fair play regulations, a genuine challenger for the Scudetto and will be playing European football for a fifth successive season.

Napoli now look to improve on last season’s third place finish in Serie A and elimination at the group phase of the Champions League due to an inferior three-way head-to-head record, despite finishing joint top of Group F after winning four of their six games.

The Azzurri also secured a fifth Coppa Italia with a 3-1 win against Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico, however the shooting of supporter Ciro Esposito amidst scenes of violence ahead of the match marred the final.

Esposito spent fifty days in intensive care before passing away and his mother Antonella Leardi is now leading a campaign to end violence in football.

Transfers

After investing a reported €100 million on twelve new signings last season, Napoli had been expected to continue spending this summer with numerous high profile names linked with a move to the San Paolo.

Only “about ten per cent” of the anticipated arrivals have been actual transfer targets according to Rafa Benitez, with the Partenopei instead preferring to be prudent in adding to a settled squad that is now familiar with one another.

Kalidou Koulibaly, a €6.5m signing from Racing Genk, has impressed playing on the left side of central defence during pre-season and was given the nickname of “K2” by Sport Mediaset’s commentator Raffaele Auriemma after a mountainous performance in the 1-0 win against Barcelona in Geneva.

The Azzurri have also added Swansea City striker Michu on an initial season-long loan and Netherlands international midfielder Jonathan De Guzman, who spent the last two seasons on loan at Swansea, from Villarreal.

Pepe Reina has moved to Bayern Munich after his season loan ended with Mariano Andujar providing cover for new first choice goalkeeper Rafael Cabral now recovered from cruciate knee ligament damage suffered in March.

While many feel that Napoli still needs to strengthen defensively, they have crucially not lost any key players unlike previous seasons.

Only those deemed surplus to requirements have exited with Federico Fernandez sold to Swansea for €10m following the arrival of Koulibaly, former captain Paolo Cannavaro has joined Sassuolo on a permanent contract and Valon Behrami was allowed to leave for Hamburg.

Other notable transfer news includes Edu Vargas joining Queens Park Rangers for a third separate loan spell since moving to the San Paolo in 2012, while Walter Gargano has returned to the first team after loans at Inter and Parma.

With a week remaining until the mercato closes further arrivals and exits appear to be imminent as the Partenopei are still prioritising signing a defensive midfielder and the futures of Blerim Dzemaili, Goran Pandev and Duvan Zapata remain unclear.

The Coach – Rafa Benitez

Rafa Benitez NapoliThe appointment of Benitez on a two-year contract last summer was considered to be coup for Napoli with his reputation as an experienced continental coach with a record for delivering silverware seen as a sign of the club’s ascendancy.

While detractors have been critical of his rotation strategy and refusal to deviate from his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, the majority of supporters and De Laurentiis have consistently affirmed their faith in the 54-year-old tactician with the president telling the media ahead of the new season “with Rafa in charge I sleep soundly.”

Season Expectations

Expectations are high among players and supporters alike with Napoli aiming for both the Scudetto and reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League.

There is already a lot of pressure on the Partenopei to perform with the outcome of the second leg of their Champions League play-off against Athletic Club at the San Mames likely to determine both the atmosphere ahead of the new campaign and future spending.

Gonzalo Higuain has claimed that “Napoli have to play in the Champions League,” but Benitez has been pragmatic insisting success this season does not depend on this one match.

“The preliminary round is crucial from an economic and image point of view, but that does not mean that we cannot grow the same without the Champions League,” the Spaniard said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the first leg.

Benitez has also acknowledged that Napoli need to improve their defensive record after losing too many points to lower placed teams last season.

“We conceded 39 goals in the league, I say too many certainly. You cannot win a championship suffering so much,” he conceded during a question and answer session with supporters at the pre-season training camp at Dimaro.

Prediction

Napoli may be confident of considerably closing the 24-point-gap on Juventus this season, but with supporters still inviting De Laurentiis to spend money, there are reservations whether they will be consistent enough to improve on both third place in Serie A and succeed in the Champions League.

Where will they finish? 3rd

 

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