The 2013-2014 season saw Napoli break a number of club records as they won the Coppa Italia for the fifth time in their history and ensured European football for the fifth successive year after a third place finish in Serie A.
The season was also characterised by change with a reported €100 million spent on twelve new signings over the course of the campaign as new head coach Rafa Benitez reshaped his first-team squad following the departure of previous boss Walter Mazzarri to Inter and top-scorer Edinson Cavani to Paris Saint-Germain for €64.5m.
The appointment of a coach with a proven record for delivering silverware in addition to the arrival of several big name players were seen as a sign of Napoli’s continued ascendancy, and early results saw expectations rise as the Azzurri won their first five games of the season, including overcoming Borussia Dortmund on the opening day Champions League campaign followed by a first victory since 1986 against AC Milan at San Siro.
However this initial euphoria would gradually fade as defensive difficulties, in part a consequence of the transition to a 4-2-3-1 system from the variations of 3-5-2 used since the Vesuviani’s return to the top flight in 2007, saw the team suffer from a lack of consistency at times throughout the season.
Despite impressive home wins against the top teams including Juventus, Roma and Inter as well as setting a new club record of 10 away victories in a Serie A season, the Partenopei dropped points against 8 of the 10 teams that finished in the bottom half of the league table. The essentially new side also equalled the previous year’s record points total of 78, but were 24 points behind Scudetto winners Juventus.
There were further mixed emotions in the Champions League campaign as Napoli exited at the group phase, despite finishing joint top of Group F with Dortmund and Arsenal on 12 points. The Azzurri dropped into the Europa League but were knocked out by Porto at the Round of 16 after edging past Swansea City in the previous round.
But Benitez would finish his first season in charge with a trophy as Napoli won the Coppa Italia with a 3-1 win against Fiorentina after beating Atalanta, Lazio and Roma on their way to the final.
Player of the Season
For his importance as a focal point both on and off the pitch, Gonzalo Higuain was the player of the season for Napoli.
In addition to his 24 goals and 11 assists in all competitions, the Azzurri’s leading marksman and provider thrived on the affection he has received since his club record move from Real Madrid last summer.
After reportedly feeling unloved and unwanted at the Bernabeu, ‘Pipita’ was made more than welcome in Naples, a city with a long tradition of adopting Argentine attackers as one of their own from Bruno Pesaola to Ezequiel Lavezzi and, of course, Diego Maradona in between.
From being greeted by hundreds of supporters at Rome’s Fiumicino airport on his arrival to the roars of ‘GON-ZA-LO’ and HI-GUA-IN’ between stadium announcer Decibel Bellini and the crowd that resonated around the San Paolo every time he scored, Higuain helped the Partenopei move on from the departure of Cavani.
Goal of the Season
With a club record 104 goals scored in all competitions this season, there were several excellent contenders including Jose Callejon’s right foot volley in the Coppa Italia round of 16 tie against Atalanta and a Dries Mertens rocket from distance that found the top corner of the net in the 4-2 Serie A home win against Lazio.
But for both the quality of the strike and significance of the game, Lorenzo Insigne’s stunning 30-yard free-kick against Dortmund was goal of the season.
The 22-year-old Neapolitan was essential to the 2-1 success against last season’s Champions League finalists and also starred in the Coppa Italia final scoring two goals in the opening 17 minutes.
Best and Worst Signing
While Napoli made several excellent additions, Jose Callejon has been the best signing this season.
After scoring only three times in La Liga for Real Madrid the previous campaign, there was much scepticism when Benitez told La Gazzetta dello Sport that the 27-year-old Andalusian could get 20 goals for the Azzurri this season.
Any doubts that the reported €9.5m fee represented money well spent were immediately erased as the wide man continuously created uncertainty in opposition defences especially when making diagonal runs between the full-back and centre-back as he went on to reach the 20 goal target and provided 8 assists in all competitions.
Dries Mertens was also excellent in his first year for Napoli, while January signings Jorginho, Henrique and Faouzi Ghoulam all impressed during the second half of the season.
Meanwhile, 34-year-old Anthony Reveillere can perhaps be considered as the worst signing.
The former French international had played under Benitez at Valencia during a six month loan in 2003 and was signed as a free agent in November to provide cover for both full-back positions following long-term injuries to Juan Zuniga and Giandomenico Mesto.
But with 13 of his 18 appearances played at left-back, the right-footed Reveillere often looked to unbalance the Napoli team with either Mertens or Insigne ahead of him both also right-footed players that like to cut inside when starting on the left.
While signing the former Lyon full-back was a temporary solution, there was a clear improvement in the balance of the side when the naturally left-footed Ghoulam joined in January.
