Last weekend’s tie of the round, first against second, the champion against the contender and dare we even suggest north against south, failed miserably to live up to the billing. Serie A’s only supposed anti-Juventus team (a baton that has now been passed over to Inter) flopped badly at the Juventus stadium.
Two late goals by the Bianconeri substitutes put Napoli out of their misery and raised a whole new set of questions surrounding the depth of squad available to Walter Mazzarri and whether they can still be considered as title challengers.
Despite this insipid performance, it is extremely disappointing to read reports that the coach has to ‘carry the can’ for such a poor display and that in fact he could be replaced come the end of the season. Are Napoli being held back by Mazzarri? Has he taken them as far as he can? Here at Club Focus, we adamantly refute these claims and believe that it is the lack of squad quality that is in fact stagnating the Neapolitan progress and certainly not the tactician.
Juventus, on paper at least, have an excellent starting 11 but surely nothing that would send an English Premier League team scurrying around for its cheque book in the hope of enticing another superstar to the self proclaimed best league in the world.
However, what sets them apart in Italy is the amount of quality it can call upon when things are not going their way. At the weekend, despite dominating the game, Napoli looked good for a point and a draw away to the league leaders would have been a good night’s work. But, the introduction of Martin Caceres and Paul Pogba had the Italian journalists re-thinking their morning headlines as the duo had an immediate impact and grabbed the goals that sunk their opponent.
Mazzarri has no such luxury to call upon in a moment of need. Apart from teenager Lorenzo Insigne, those warming themselves on the bench are unlikely to make the impact that is necessary to turn a match. Andrea Dossena, Marco Donadel and even the interesting Blerim Dzemaili are no head turners let alone game changers. Herein lays the weaknesses in this Napoli team, not in the tactical philosophies of Walter Mazzarri. In fact, some would even suggest that ‘il Mister’ has perhaps performed a mini-miracle given the resources available to him. Should a team that relies on a back three of Paolo Cannavaro, Hugo Campagnaro and Salvatore Aronica really be labelled as the anti-Juventus? The answer to that question does not take long to figure out.
Unfortunately, the week has not improved at the San Paolo. The Europa League dealt another hammer blow to the Napoli ‘B’ side, as the squad players that have so far failed to make the difference in the Serie A, disappointed once again.
A 3-1 loss at the hands of Dnipro has dented their push for European honours, though Walter Mazzarri has defended his decision to persevere with his ‘turnover’ for these midweek matches. “Fans have their opinions and I respect that, however the players gave everything”, was his response to the critics after the away defeat.
Off the field, Napoli risk a point deduction after allegations that Paolo Cannavaro was aware of an alleged attempt to fix a match against Sampdoria in 2010.
Reports suggest that the former keeper, Matteo Gianello, asked Cannavaro to help arrange the match but that the current Napoli captain refused. However, as was the case with Juventus coach Antonio Conte, the defender failed to report the incident and now risks being banned for a number matches. More details will undoubtedly emerge over the following weeks.
This Sunday, Mazzarri faces Chievo, who are feeling the resurgent effects under a new coach, Eugenio Corini. Napoli have no injury concerns and should be able to field a full strength side against the Flying Donkeys.
Interestingly, the match at the San Paolo might be full of fans wearing surgical masks. In a recent initiative by two journalists, aimed at tackling racist chanting in the stadium, supporters are asked to ‘arm’ themselves with these masks in protest at those fans that hurled racial abuse after the Juventus-Napoli match last week.
We wish the campaign every success.
