Saturday’s match between Fiorentina and Napoli was the perfect example of what a midseason coaching change can do, and unfortunately for the Partenopei, they find themselves in the grips of a full blown crisis after theirs.
It’s hard to fully blame Gennaro Gattuso for everything that’s gone on under his watch, as the Azzurri’s season was already heading down the wrong path under Carlo Ancelotti, but the numbers aren’t pretty when looking at the 42-year-old’s time thus far.
Gattuso became the first Napoli coach since Zdenek Zeman in 2000 to lose four of his first five league matches in charge. All five of those matches have seen the other team score first as well.
The eye test is even worse than the numbers unfortunately. Anyone who watched Napoli on Saturday saw a side lacking personality, lacking desire and worst of all, lacking belief.
Fiorentina look much improved since Giuseppe Iachini took over, earning seven points from his three matches in charge, but they didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel during the 2-0 victory.
The Viola played with discipline, something rarely seen this season, leaned on their star players – Federico Chiesa and Gaetano Castrovilli – and kept things tight at the back.
That plan secured them a deserved three points, and the fact that it came so easily is what is most damning about Napoli’s play.
Gone are the days of Sarri-ball where everyone knew their role, played their part and, more often than not, put on a show. Instead, fans at the Stadio San Paolo were subjected to a spectacle unbefitting of a side that was expected to challenge for the Scudetto before the start of the season.
Their home record now stands at five defeats from 10 matches, a mark previously achieved in 1959/60 and 1997/98. Napoli were relegated in both those seasons, and while that won’t happen this campaign, things don’t get any easier next Sunday when Juventus come to town.
Gattuso has already let it be known that the team will go in ritiro ahead of the contest as the coach looks for answers. Unfortunately for him he has to find something, otherwise someone else will be tasked with looking for them sooner than anyone would have expected.
