Group Stage Fan Preview: Napoli

SSC Napoli enter the season coming off an encouraging market.  It’s not that the club made so many pivotal acquisitions over the summer - they managed to retain their best players.  What may seem trivial is a monumental step toward the success of Napoli, who have historically had a tough time of keeping their stars.  Even in recent seasons, the club has seen standouts such as Gonzalo Higuaín, Edison Cavani, and Ezequiel Lavezzi depart the club.  This bodes well for Napoli as it is a testament to the success of manager Maurizio Sarri, who has constructed a project worth sticking with.

Over the summer, Napoli added talented young winger Adam Ounas from Bordeaux and utility fullback Mário Rui from Roma, on a loan with obligation to buy in July 2018.  The club also paid out on clauses to make Nikola Maksimović and Marko Rog permanent transfers, and signed Roberto Inglese from Chievo Verona on the last day of the transfer window, immediately loaning him back to the Veneto based club. The most notable departures are Duván Zapata and Ivan Strinić to Sampdoria, and Leonardo Pavoletti to Cagliari.

All things considered, Napoli have a lot to be encouraged about following the transfer window.  Ounas is a smart purchase for the future and should provide healthy competition for veteran winger Jose Callejón, and Rui was necessary for depth.  While Juventus remain title favorites for Serie A, it is Napoli who seem the likeliest of contenders to topple the Bianconeri’s domination.

However, Napoli missed their chance to drastically upgrade their squad by purchasing a new goalkeeper.  Once again, Napoli enter the season with the mercurial Pepe Reina, who seemed to be growing disillusioned at the club.  Additionally, Reina is prone to errors - while he has shown his worth from time to time, fans have grown frustrated with his intermittent mistakes.  Reina’s contract expires in summer 2018, and with Napoli unlikely to renew, they must pursue a replacement goalkeeper sooner rather than later.

Perhaps the only other position in need of upgrading is center back.  26-year- old Kalidou Koulibaly has been consistently excellent for Napoli, but the club has failed to find the right partner for him to steady the defense.  Other options include the aging Raúl Albion, Vlad Chiriches, Lorenzo Tonelli, and Nikola Maksimović.  Sarri would be wise to grant more chances to Maksimović in particular, who struggled to adapt at the club last season but showed his class while at Torino.  Other than goalkeeper and another consistent center back, Napoli’s defensive options are outstanding; Faouzi Ghoulam and Elseid Hysaj are some of the most talented fullbacks in the league.

Sarri, entering his third season with Napoli, has excited fans and neutrals alike with his innovative, attacking-oriented playing style.  This is marked by minimal dribbling in the first two phases, rapid but short passing, and calculated buildup through the middle.  Movements are orchestrated with great precision and are particularly lethal toward the left side, where Ghoulam, Marek Hamšík, and Lorenzo Insigne combine to devastating effect.  Napoli are fortunate to have one of the best midfield depths in the world; Hamšík, Jorginho, Piotr Zielinski, Amadou Diawara, Allan, and Rog are all capable of producing breathtaking football.  In particular, this season will be a memorable one for longstanding captain and Hamšík, who enters the campaign just three goals shy of Diego Maradona’s club record.  Hamšík is arguably the best midfielder in Italy and this could be his best chance yet to add to his legacy and win a scudetto.

Prior to the 2016-17 campaign, many wondered how Napoli would fare without Higuaín, who was the club’s top scorer by some distance.  When Arkadiusz Milik (then a new signing) tore his ACL last October, Napoli had a brand new crisis to worry about.  What followed was an almost indescribable rise from Dries Mertens, who had barely played as a lone central forward during his time at the club. Mertens scored 34 goals in all competitions last season, linking up with the electric Insigne and industrious Callejón to form one of the most devastating trios in football.  Now that Milik has fully recovered, Sarri seems content to rotate him with Mertens depending on the match.  Napoli enter the Champions League group stages with tremendous depth in nearly every position.

Napoli were drawn to Group F in the Champions League along with Feyenoord (Netherlands), Manchester City (England), and Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine). Naturally, the most exciting match on the horizon is Napoli vs Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.  Sarri and Guardiola are two of the most tactically innovative coaches in the world, and the prospect of their squads meeting is thrilling even for most neutrals.  On paper, Napoli should not have great difficulty with Feyenoord or Shakhtar, but the matches against Manchester City should be a sight to behold.  The matches could go either way, but with Guardiola currently struggling to implement his system at Manchester City, the October match at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester could prove to be crucial in Napoli’s bid to finish atop their group.

Expect Napoli to improve on last season’s 3rd place finish in Serie A, and their exit in the Round of 16 in the Champions League at the hands of eventual winners Real Madrid.  Sarri, who has been called Napoli’s most important factor by legendary manager Arrigo Sacchi, will be keen to prove that his tactical style is as functional in winning silverware as it is aesthetic.  Provided Reina steps up his performances and Napoli figure out the missing piece to the puzzle at center back, a scudetto and Champions League campaign lasting to the late stages are not unrealistic expectations.  There’s a footballing eclipse in Campania threatening to block out the rest, make sure you are around to witness it.

By: @Ilsarrista