The star of Napoli’s defence, Raul Albiol has impressed since setting foot in Serie A this season.
Napoli have enjoyed a meteoric rise in profile since they first took the Champions League by storm in 2011, clear testimony of the Three Tenors’ exploits when they were unleashed on unsuspecting opponents.
That triumvirate of Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik may be disbanded now, but in their wake, Gonzalo Higuain, Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens rose like a phoenix from the ashes of those cherished memories.
With their names already reading together like a collective noun for industry, flair and invention, the band of newcomers have gone some way to making their predecessors’ tag their own. And just as the upstarts set about endearing themselves to the club faithful with goal after goal, Napoli have soared, stringing together five victories on the trot to remain in the hunt for the Scudetto and Champions League knockout stage qualification.
Meanwhile, quietly going about his own business while his fellow arrivals hog the headlines is the integral fourth element of Napoli’s title hunt – Raul Albiol. The centre-back, brought in at the behest of his former Valencia boss Rafael Benitez to smooth the outfit’s transition to a four-man defence this term, has no doubt reaped dividends from the presence of his compatriot in the coach’s dugout and transformed into a figure of authority.
On a level plain with the exploits of Higuain and Callejon in ensuring a rampant Roma don’t run away with an overwhelming Serie A lead, Albiol’s aerial ability and assurance playing the ball out of the back is presenting Benitez with additional weapons to lead his Napoli revolution. Exuding leadership and composure, Albiol has looked his part in the Partenopei shirt already, and the cacophonous local crowd now have every reason to equally bank their title aspirations on the 28-year-old.
Just as Napoli’s attack keeps ticking over, Raul Albiol and Pepe Reina have kept things tight in defence.
His form and awareness has foreclosed many a danger, and it is thanks in no small part to their stalwart that Napoli can travel to Turin and be confident of battening down the hatches to face Juventus on an even footing this Sunday. Given the renewed emphasis of calling upon solid rearguards in Italy this campaign, Albiol is quickly racking up the appearances under Benitez, the latter who has been just as eager to construct Napoli’s defence around his protege.
The numerous calamities of usual suspects Pablo Armero and Christian Maggio may have attracted their share of bad press and scrutiny to date, but Federico Fernandez and Pepe Reina are beginning to emerge as worthy sidekicks. Accumulating consistent minutes for the first time since moving to Serie A and aided partially by Miguel Britos’ untimely injury, credit must still go to Fernandez for never setting a foot wrong since filling in beside Albiol.
Reina’s solid, if unspectacular, form has likewise proven a tonic. It is no coincidence therefore that Napoli’s winning streak coincides with the defensive triplet’s first indications of a blossoming partnership; though the goals conceded at home to Catania and Marseille owing to the mishaps of their inept colleagues may leave a sour taste, the sensation is that Albiol and company can only improve as a backline unit from here on.
Initial detractors of Napoli’s title prospects this season have been hushed, and already it feels impossible to glimpse this team without Albiol, such are her domestic and European credentials boosted by his services. If Higuain and his partners in crime upfront are laying claim to the fabled title as the latest Three Tenors to grace the San Paolo, then Albiol too has unequivocal right to lobby for his accommodation as its fourth member.
Follow Jeremy Lim on Twitter: @JLCalcio
