Napoli have been busy both on and off the pitch over the last week as they progressed to the Coppa Italia semi-finals and recruited a trio of January reinforcements.
The Azzurri were expected to be active in the winter mercato, having been linked with ‘about 2,000 names,’ according to head coach Rafa Benitez. While there has unsurprisingly not been that number of acquisitions, Napoli have added to the earlier arrival of midfielder Jorginho from Hellas Verona by signing French-born Algeria international left-back Faouzi Ghoulam from Saint-Etienne for €5 million and defender Henrique from Palmeiras for €4m.
These additions will add to the quality of the current squad with the highly-rated Ghoulam believed to have been a previous transfer target of AC Milan, Manchester United and Roma, while Henrique, who can play in defence or holding midfield, was part of the Palmeiras side that won the Brasileirão Série B last season and is currently on the fringes of the Brazil national squad.
Napoli have even began recruiting for next season, having bought half of the contract of goalkeeper Mariano Andujar from Catania. The 30-year-old Argentina international is likely to be the replacement for Pepe Reina next season, as the Liverpool loanee is expected to seal a return to Spain following the conclusion of his spell with the Partenopei. Andujar is currently second choice at the Sicilian side having lost his place to Alberto Frison in recent weeks, but will remain with Catania on loan until the end of the current season.
In addition to the arrivals, there have also been a trio of loan departures from the San Paolo with Pablo Armero joining West Ham United until the end of the season and Edu Vargas now having gone to Valencia, after spending the entire of 2013 with Gremio. Club captain Paolo Cannavaro has also moved on loan to Sassuolo until the summer having been largely unused this season.
Meanwhile on the pitch, the Partenopei have stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to eleven matches. Having drawn 2-2 away at Bologna the previous week, Napoli were looking to return to winning ways as they hosted Chievo at the Stadio San Paolo on Saturday evening. However there was further frustration for the Vesuviani, as they drew their second successive Serie A game after having to come from behind to secure a late 1-1 draw against the Flying Donkeys.
Chievo had taken the lead after Neapolitan native Gennaro Sardo burst down the right side and combined with Cyril Thereau before firing a powerful shot into the far top corner past Rafael. Napoli struggled to get in behind the Gialloblu defence following the opening goal and, despite hitting the woodwork on three separate occasions, only managed to equalise with two minutes remaining after Raul Albiol squeezed in a shot past Christian Puggioni from a corner.
Despite dropping further points to second-placed rivals Roma in the league, there was positive news for the Partenopei as they progressed to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia after a 1-0 win over the Giallorossi’s city rivals Lazio. Napoli again found it difficult to break down a defensive Biancocelesti side and tempers flared in an incident which saw Lorenzo Insigne react angrily to jeers from the home crowd after being substituted in the second-half.
But the Azzurri managed to make another late breakthrough with a great piece of improvisation by Gonzalo Higuain on 82 minutes. El Pipita, with his back to goal in the six-yard box, brilliantly flicked in Jose Callejon’s shot and in doing so inflicted the first defeat on former Napoli boss Edy Reja in his second spell as Lazio coach.
Whilst Roma and Lazio fans would have hoped to have seen three Derby della Capitale matches in seven days, fans of Italian football will instead be treated to a highly competitive two-legged semi-final between two of the top sides in the peninsula so far this season. The Vesuviani will travel to the Stadio Olimpico next Wednesday, before hosting Roma in the return match the following week.
However the Coppa clash will have to be set aside this Sunday as the Azzurri travel to Bergamo to play Atalanta. La Dea will be looking to continue their current winning run at home having won their last two matches at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia following their Coppa Italia Round of 16 exit to Napoli on January 15. But with Fiorentina currently three points behind the Partenopei for third place in the Serie A table, Napoli need to return to winning ways to ensure Champions League qualification for next season.
