Last Year’s Finish: 2nd Place (23 W – 9 D – 6 L)
Prediction for 2013-14 Campaign: 2nd place
With the Serie A season only a few days away, most Napoli fans are going into this season with very high expectations, especially after a successful 2012-13 campaign. I am predicting a second place finish this year, however with some trepidation. The way things can go exceptionally well, they can go sour just as quickly.
There were many changes that happened during the summer for Napoli. Here is a quick list:
- Manager Change: Aurelio De Laurentiis decided to replace Walter Mazzari with Rafael Benitez. The coaching change brings a new managerial approach and formation. Benitez is very keen on squad rotation, where Mazzari would use 14-15 players. Also, Benitez will employ a 4-2-3-1 formation, whereas Mazzari would use a 3-5-2 formation. In light of this change, Benitez also brings to Napoli a wealth of experience in European championships, which this year, Napoli will take part in Champions League.
- New Striking force: Another big move was selling Edison Cavani to PSG for reportedly $64 million. Once sold, Napoli decided to purchase Gonzalo Higuian for $37 million – as I mentioned in my previous post. Higuain will have big boots/nets to fill!
- New faces: Napoli has also added many new faces to the squad. They have purchased attacking midfielder/forwards Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens, defender Raul Albiol, goalkeeper Rafael and received goalkeeper Pepe Reina on loan from Liverpool. Plus with the transfer market not over until the end of August, more new faces may come into the fold.
- International Flavour: After recent International break for friendlies, from Napoli’s roster 16 players were chosen for international duties. Granted not all the players were first-choice for their respective country, this still shows the quality of players that Napoli has.
With all the positives mentioned above, there are some negatives. Napoli players need to learn a new system, get use to playing with one another and under a new coach. For these reasons, Napoli may stumble out of the gate. However, the first three fixtures (two at home, 1 away) are versus teams that are at best mid-table teams, which can help the situation. Moreover, the first game of the season is at Stadio San Paolo versus Bologna. Bologna is far-removed from the team of 2012-13 (getting a 3-2 win at Stadio San Paolo and knocking Napoli out of Coppa Italia) losing the likes of Manolo Gabbiadini, Alberto Gilardino, Saphir Taider. The remaining star-power player that Bologna have is Alessandro Diamanti and his left-foot. Therefore, starting off with a win at home for Napoli is a must.
During the 2013-14 campain, Napoli will be competing in the Champions League group stage. The draw will be important to see first before I will comment on their chances of passing through. However, this will add at least 6 tough fixtures in the Napoli schedule, which will make the first few months even tougher.
The first real test of the Serie A campaign will come on September 22, 2013 vs AC Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Last year both matches between these teams ended in a draw. This year for Napoli to improve on their standings taking 4 points out of the possible 6 would be ideal. After this match there will be other important matches versus Fiorentina, AS Roma but November 10, 2013 is the date circled on the calender of all Napoli fans becasue it is the first clash versus Juventus. Napoli will need to improve on last year results versus Juventus if have any chance of winning the Scudetto.
My quick thoughts on what to expect from each group of players:
- Goalkeepers (Rafael and Reina): Do the same or better than Morgan De Sanctis, Napoli should be fine
- Defenders (Albiol, Armero, Britos, Cannavaro (C), Fernandez, Maggio, Mesto, Zuniga): Need to secure the Top 3 defense of Serie A to have achance of winning the scudetto. The new formation of four in the back will take time to get used to. Maggio and Zuniga are not natural full-backs, so this will be something to keep a look-out for on how they adapt.
- Midfield (Behrami, Dzemaili, Inler, Radošević): Behrami needs to be the same player as last year and his current pre-season form. Inler (needs a big season)/Dzemaili need to help on the back end and chip in a few goals during the year. The new kid on the block, Radošević (“surprise player“), learn from the experience footballers and use your time on the pitch gain experience
- Attacking Midfield (Callejon, Mertens, Hamsik (VC)): Hamsik needs to be Hamsik (which, in my opinion, is the only guarantee). Callejon (in my opion will be a “bust” signing) and Mertens need to add pace to the game/creativity and puts goals in the back of the net.
- Forwards (Higuain, Insigne, Pandev): Most eyes will be on Higuain to score and scores goals he must! Insigne will be the breakout star, which will help fill the void that was left by Cavani. Hopefully Pandev can have a rebound year without injury and keep his pre-season form.
Quick though on the Serie 2013-14 season – The favorite to win the Scudetto is Juventus. Rightfully so, considering they have the most stability/continuity of any team in Serie A. It also helps they have the best goalkeeper, team defence and midfield in Serie A. I predicted Napoli to finish second this year, however AC Milan, Fiorentina, AS Roma, Lazio will make finishing second very difficult. The Dark horse of Serie A will be Inter Milan because we won’t know what to expect from them each game (new coach, young players brought into squad).
In the end, Napoli, barring any significant injury and the team becoming cohesive quickly, can challenge Juventus for the Scudetto, with Higuain being the “Capocannoniere” for the 2013-14 campaign.
Forza Napoli!
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