Rafapocalypse: A post-Benitez Napoli could end in disaster

Napoli presented a rather elaborate Greco-Roman style 2015 calendar this week, however, as their attempts to join the Serie A title race continue to stutter amid suggestions Rafael Benitez’ precarious future at the San Paolo, its pages could quickly become outdated should the Spaniard depart.

Few would mourn Benitez’s exit, but the squad could likely have its spine ripped apart of his fellow countrymen and those others enticed by his coaching pedigree.

For instance the triple signing in 2013 of Raul Albiol, Jose Callejon and Gonzalo Higuain from European heavyweights Real Madrid, in the wake of significant interest from elsewhere, could have never come to fruition in the absence of Benitez.

In switching to Benitez’s preferred back-four system, Albiol was a key addition. Higuain has largely replaced the goals of outgoing Edinson Cavani while Callejon has been a revelation in Naples. Indeed after 23 goals in 50 Serie A games and some swashbuckling performances in attack, Callejon is finally receiving deserved recognition and made his senior Spain debut in the November victory over Belarus.

Unfortunately for Napoli that raises his profile further, proving doubters that he is better than his super-sub role at Real Madrid suggested. As such, other European clubs will come circling in January, thus making Napoli’s attempts to retain him more difficult in Benitez’s absence.

The same goes for Higuain — given reported interest from Premier League side Liverpool — who reportedly also looked keen to move on. Surely a Benitez departure could only accelerate any such decision.

The trend for players to follow the coaches who signed them — especially when they are their fellow countrymen — out of clubs is nothing new, therefore, recent arrivals like David Lopez and Michu (both loan signings) would almost certainly leave upon seeing other teammates questioned their futures.

Financially the Partenopei will struggle to recoup even half the €67 million spent on their Spanish contingent, and this summer Aurelio De Laurentiis showed an unwillingness to significantly invest in the squad.

Even the reported signing of Sampdoria’s Manolo Gabbiadini will hardly entice star names to the Southern city with the 23-year-old still to show his long-term credentials as a major player.

Given their age, Dries Mertens and captain Marek Hamsik are approaching their most important years and would view the depletion of arguably the third most competitive squad in Italy as an indication that chances of further ‘success’ have gone.

Despite close ties the Slovakian has with the city, they will not keep him in Naples. In truth, the playmaker has struggled for form since suffering injury early in Benitez’s first campaign and a change of scenery could be an ideal opportunity to reignite a career that has stagnated of late.

Clubs would quickly realise they could capitalise on a side crumbling like the ruins in the Antediluvian backdrop of their latest marketing gimmick.

All that could be left is Lorenzo Insigne and a few promising youngsters like Faouzi Ghoulam and Kalidou Koulibaly, who were mainly brought in by Benitez.

Without a serious cash injection, Napoli could be condemned to a fate closer to mid-table mediocrity than European qualification and a million miles from a Scudetto the fans have desperately craved.

Insigne, with or without Gabbiadini, is not ready or able to carry an entire side — depleted or otherwise — and the struggle of that responsibility could destroy a player once destined to play an integral part in the Italy national team’s rejuvenation.

In the eventuality of Rafa’s exit, Napoli fans could find themselves flipping the pages of their calendar over the next year, the players adorning those pages seeming like a distant memory of a time when they challenged for top honours and a reminder that their clubs position as a significant force in Italian could be consigned to the history books for some time.

Follow Kevin Pogorzelski on Twitter: @rabbitrabbiton