Two seasons have passed since Napoli returned to Serie A and if I were a fan of the Azzurri then I would be quite satisfied with the progress the club has made. The season just passed was one of anti climax for them in many ways. They started the season in strong fashion and looked virtually unbeatable at home, but it all really went down him after the 3-0 bashing in the derby del sud against Roma. 60,000 packed the stadium that day and witnessed a mauling against Roma. After, Napoli just could not win at all. Loosing at home all to frequently and beaten easily on the road. Lavezzi and Hamsik didn't quite have the impact that they did last season at Napoli, while hitmen like Zalayeta and Denis didn't score the amount of goals that was expected of them. Donadoni came in the rescue Napoli from total free fall and in many respects he did his job, which was perhaps more difficult than at least I initially thought. A stunning win over Inter gave hope to the Napoli faithful, but after they continued to struggle and finished the season on a whim really. But, it was a second consecutive season in Serie A and they comfortably avoided relegation. This in itself should be considered progress when you consider it was not so long ago they were in Serie C.
Napoli: The future
The future of Napoli does however look even brighter. Already they have signed promising Italy forward Fabio Quagliarella to partner Lavezzi upfront and have expressed desires to sign Lazio forward Goran Pandev and Sampdoria fantasita Antonio Cassano. Also, reports confirmed that Napoli have had turned down by Sampdoria a bid of 17 million euros for Giampaolo Pazzini, who in my view would have been the perfect foil for Lavezzi and Quagliarella. Sevilla goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis is apparently also on the way. A few more signings would make Napoli a very competitive outfit targeting the top seven for the European places. Indeed they would join a very competitive group of clubs. Whilst Juve, Inter, Milan and perhaps Roma and Fiorentina will battle for the Scudetto, Napoli with a squad like this would not need to feel inferior to the likes of Lazio, Genoa, Palermo and Udinese and should along with these sides battle it out for Europa league activity. That being said, who would have believed Genoa would have almost made the champions league last season. This shows the strength in depth Serie A has between the 4-12 placings in the league and it will make for one hell of an interesting season once again.
Next on all things Calcio: Mercato round up and Sampdoria season and mercato review
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment