Despite a promising start to the season of 2008/2009, SSC Napoli ended the campaign in a disappointing 12th place. Owner and movie mogul Aurelio De Laurentiis was anything but happy with the end result and promised on a better finishing for the upcoming season.
During the summer the movie mogul managed to keep his star studded squad intact despite alluring bids from overseas while spicing it up with six promising arrivals consisting of Morgan De Sanctis, Hugo Campagnaro, Juan Zuñiga, Daniele Mannini, Luca Cigarini and Fabio Quagliarella. The signings cost him a total of €30 million, but splashing the cash was no problem if they were to reach the forthcoming season’s objectives.
De Laurentiis had his sights on a top six finish, but with only eight points collected in the first seven outings along with a 15th place in the standings, the Napoli owner finally booted the widely criticized Roberto Donadoni during the first week of October.
The replacement was named former Sampdoria coach, Walter Mazzarri.
There was no doubt that the club had a very talented squad at their disposal but it had been dragged under the guidance of a coach who didn’t know how to get the best out of his players or what system to utilize for a long time running.
Would the turnaround come with Mazzarri?
Despite much skepticism from pundits and supporters alike, the newly appointed coach’s arrival would come to change things rather drastically at the club.
After his first 15 games in charge, Mazzarri has recorded eight victories and seven draws – earning the club a total of 31 points along the way as they now proudly sit on a Champions League spot.
Mazzarri’s arrival has seen the team undergo quite a renaissance as underperforming players such as Fabio Quagliarelli, Michele Pazienza and Paolo Cannavaro are once again showcasing their best. On top of that he has inserted a winning mentality which sees the team play with the kind of joy and confidence that has been lacking for a long time.
Unlike his predecessor, Mazzarri is more flexible when it comes to knowing how to get the very best out of his players as well as showcasing great tactical ability.
The formerly shaky backline has improved drastically seeing as Napoli has gone a whopping six league games without conceding a single goal. However, there needs to be some improvements in the offense as the Azzurri often tend to dominate the game, but lack efficiency when entering the final third.
Things are finally looking bright again for Napoli and considering that the season is far from over, the objectives De Laurentiis put ahead of the season can be reached – if not exceeded. However, there is still a lot of work to do and many potential slip-ups to be made.
After the dismal start to the season few believed that Napoli would be in contention for the Champions League spots come the second half of the season. Although it’s too early to say whether the club will qualify for the European cup come next season, it’s definitely safe to say that Napoli is indeed alive and kicking once more.
Written by Marzia Hazra
Hi Marzia,
Definitely a turn from the last article you wrote about here on WFC. Would you say the poor form of other clubs have contributed to Napoli’s league position or do they possess a team worthy of their spot?
Juventus and Milan for me have been very under par this season – if Napoli can cement their place near the top of the table they might be able to take a stranglehold on the post-Calciopoli Serie A.
Definitely! Actually, I think it’s a mixture of both considering that, as you said, Juventus and Milan have underperformed this season while Napoli also have a very good squad at their disposal. On top of that, Roberto Donadoni’s successor, Walter Mazzarri, has also done the Partenopei a world of good. However, I don’t think they have what it takes to take a stranglehold of the top spots in Serie A in the long run – especially not when Juve and Milan finally shake off their catastrophic dip in form.