Heartbreak for Napoli and Rafael Benitez as an expectant Partenopei failed to deliver both at home and abroad.
A season in which a club advances to the semi-finals of two competitions and competes for a Champions League playoff position until the final match day would, on its surface appear a successful run, but it is unlikely you’ll find many Napoli fans recounting the 2014/15 campaign as anything but an unmitigated disaster.
In many respects, the heart was ripped from the squad before the season began as the Azzurri fell to Athletic Club in a two-legged Champions League playoff tie. Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis neglected to invest without the assurance of Champions League group play and the team would struggle to duplicate last year’s third place finish.
An old Napoletano saying states, “When you see Napoli you cry twice. Once when you arrive and again when you leave.” Such was the season as the disappointment at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao penned the first chapter and an inexplicable loss to Lazio closed the book and postponed the Vesuviani’s long wait for glory.
Aspirations were at an all-time high and management fanned the flames by openly using the term “scudetto” for the first time in the De Laurentiis era. Talk of marquee additions including Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso were not scuttled when linked with the club.
The cold reality of the transfer market was no one bridged the gulf between Napoli and Juventus and the club chose the safer route, adding mid-tier talent such as David Lopez and Jonathan de Guzman to strengthen the midfield, Michu to bolster the attack and French center-back Kalidou Koulibaly to add steel to a troublesome backline.
The club also brought back midfield destroyer Walter Gargano after successive loan spells with Inter and Parma but the quantity of signings served only to give coach Rafa Benitez more options, not better options.
While a safe approach to avoid spending without guaranteed compensation from the lucrative Champions League group may have proven a sound financial decision, precious points were lost as a result.
Two central themes sabotaged the Partenopei all season: dropped points against lesser squads and a porous defense.
Napoli finished in fifth due to a maddening inconsistency of results and uneven performances. A four-match win streak marked the longest level of success as Napoli often played down to their opponents only completing the double over two squads (Cesena and Sassuolo) in the bottom half and suffering humiliating defeats to Empoli, Palermo and Chievo, while turning victories into draws against Cagliari and Palermo.
Napoli has established a reputation for goals and it can be reasonably argued the talent is scudetto-worthy with the club finishing amongst the top three in goals for the third consecutive term. However, the offensive fireworks could never paper over the cracks of a sieve defense which surrendered 54 goals, a low-water mark not seen since the 1997/1998 championship when the Azzurri succumbed 76 times and were relegated.
The central pairing of Koulibaly and Raul Albiol never got quite got untracked as defensive lapses were as frustrating as they were predictable. The substitution of Miguel Britos for Koulibaly served to only shift the focus to Albiol, whose 29-year old legs struggled to handle the workload.
An unsettled midfield also contributed to Napoli’s shortcomings as Benitez kept rotating Lopez or Gargano with Gokhan Inler and Jorginho to find a working pivot in the Spaniard’s preferred (only) 4-2-3-1 formation. Inler has never repeated the dynamic form at Udinese which caused the club to sign him over Arturo Vidal, a decision which catapulted its rival and pegged back the Azzurri.
Player of the Season
Gonzalo Higuain has served as a reference point since his arrival as the Argentine is not only adept at bagging goals but his movement off the ball and ability to play a creative pass to spring a team mate have added a quality unseen since captain Marek Hamsik’s regression nearly two seasons ago.
Higuain ended the season with 28 goals across all competitions and his 10 assists prove he is as close to a true number 10 as the club has, although his future remains in doubt with no prospects of Champions League football next season.
For all his quality, “Pipita” could not escape being caught in the stench of a disappointing campaign. The former Real Madrid man had a nasty exchange with Benitez after being substituted in the penultimate match at Juventus Stadium and in the season’s denouement with Napoli up a man and a chance to seal a Champions League playoff berth at his feet, Higuain skied his spot kick, his fifth penalty kick miss in nine attempts.
Goal of the Season
For its drama and the belief it gave the club, Higuain’s dramatic bicycle kick from an exquisite Lorenzo Insigne cross serves as the standard bearer in a season which contained a whopping 70 goals.
Napoli were off to a stuttering start and hosted second place Roma at the Stadio San Paolo. A victory was crucial and the third minute tally caused an eruption in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius and temporarily gave belief to an unsettled squad.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvhogxOhHgA[/youtube]Video
Best and Worst Signings
Despite a raft of summer signings, the most impactful addition occurred in January when Napoli plucked Sampdoria leading scorer Manolo Gabbiadini for €13 million.
The 23-year old attacker added a creative spark missing with the long-term injury to Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens and Marek Hamsik struggling to adapt to the fixture load.
Michu represented the other side of the Gabbiadini coin. The 29-year old made only three league appearances and will best be remembered for failing to shoot when he had Athletic Club keeper Gorka Iraizoz at his mercy late in the first leg of the playoff match.
The Coach
Rafa Benitez came to Napoli amidst great fanfare two years ago and while the club won a Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italia trophies under his watch, he failed to improve the side he inherited from Walter Mazzarri. A failure to close out matches and repeatedly making the same mistake doomed his tenure.
Napoli will certainly take on a new look next year with Benitez leaving Napoli and De Laurentiis having to once again face the daunting task of rebuilding a side whose fans must suffer and cry for a longer time.
