Hey everyone
By: Christopher |
9 Comments
First post at this Napoli blog so I’m looking forward to getting to know all you guys (and gals?) ahead of what is sure to be an interesting season given the nature of this summer mercato so far. Before we get down to footballing business (and I can’t wait to do so) I thought I should post a quick bit about myself. I’m a Junior at College. My family is half Neapolitan and half Sicilian but somehow some of them are Juve supporters so don’t mind a little extra ‘umph’ in those head to head match ups. I believe the meaning of life, as deep a philosophical notion as it is, can be narrowed down to the heavenly (is ‘orgasmic’ going to far?) ingredients found on a Neapolitan pizza pie, which comes right after my love for Napoli SSC- and I mean RIGHT after. I’m still trying to figure out what the hell is going on with America’s version of the Neapolitan pie — that thick square stuff? (seriously, wtf?). I digress. The city of Naples is beautiful as well. My friends and I emptied what little was left in our bank accounts to backpack Europe for a couple weeks in May, unfortunately we only went as South as Rome while in Italy, but boy it made me miss that gritty, down to earth feel that you get walking the streets of Naples.
So here I am broke as anything spending my days playing football and now writing about it! Haha lets get back to football! I read a lot of the recent posts by Neil, who seems to be a great refined and prolific writer, and all the comments to catch up on what I missed. Neil if you come back I look forward to writing with you. Seems like we have a close group here with some steady followers- alex, vincent, luigi were just some of the names I saw often. In my view this blog is about all of us coming together to learn from each other, get some good debates in at times, and most of all to support our club. My main goal for this thing is just to stimulate all of the above by attempting to write interesting posts. If at any point you have a suggestion for a post, or think my writing is utter shit, let me know. I look forward to meeting you (feel free to write a tid bit about yourself in the comments section if you want), and lets get this Napoli offside rolling!
Category: Team News
Quagliarella Officially Signs
By: Neil | 136 Comments
Napoli fans had their wish come true on Monday as Castellamare di Stabia native Fabio Quagliarella signed a five year deal with the Vesuviani. Two factors proved very decisive in the move. First, Quagliarella’s long time dream to play for the team he has supported since childhood. Second, a chance to reunite with the manager that gave him his first Italy cap and brought him to Euro 2008. Teams like Inter and Juve who were after Quagliagol simply could not offer either of those two attractions.
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Category: Team NewsQuagliarella to Napoli?
By: Neil | 27 Comments
When Udinese President Giampaolo Pozzo claims that Napoli are leading the way to sign Castellamare di Stabia native Fabio Quagliarella, it’s more than just a rumour. Pozzo employed Napoli d.s. Pier Paolo Marino at Udinese for years and the two could not have a better working relationship. Then there’s Quagliagol himself. The striker, more than other Napoli natives, has repeatedly expressed his desire to play for the Partenopei. But as usual, things are not straightforward. The 26 year old is in the prime of his career, and other teams besides Napoli are after his services.
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Category: Team NewsCatania Match Report & Other News
By: Neil | 21 Comments
Catania 3 Napoli 1
This game meant something: yet another road loss. The game was destined for a 1-1 draw until Martinez went down in the Napoli box in the 88th minue giving Catania a penalty. The foul was committed by Santacroce, who stepped in front of Martinez from behind to claim possession of the ball just as Martinez went to shoot. As soon as Santacroce went by him - maybe there was contact - Martinez instantly fell to the ground. You can’t really determine the nature of the contact from looking at the TV highlights, but if it was a penalty it was definitely a soft one. Mascara buried the spot kick to give Catania the three points. The highlights are worth checking out, as Bogliacino and Falconieri both scored beautiful goals from distance, with Falconieri’s coming on the half-volley.
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Category: Team NewsCatania vs. Napoli: Giornata 37
By: Neil | 24 Comments
This Sunday Napoli travels to the east coast of Sicily to compete against Walter Zenga’s Catania. It’s shaping up to be the most exciting game of the season, not only in Serie A but in all of Europe.
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Category: Team NewsWhy Certain Players Don’t End Up At Napoli
By: Neil | 30 Comments
Sorry for the delay between blogs, but it was a holiday weekend in Canada and for the last 48 hours I’ve had better things to do than write about calcio. But now I have quite a lot to write about, including a brief report of Napoli’s 2-1 loss to Torino on Sunday. And I’ll start with that.
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Category: Team NewsNapoli vs. Torino: Short Preview
By: Neil | 23 Comments
Looking at Torino’s roster and the talent available, I’m stunned that they’re still fighting for their Serie A lives. When Gianni De Biasi was replaced by Walter Novellino I thought they would begin a slow but steady climb out of the relegation zone. Almost six months later, Novellino has been replaced by Giancarlo Camolese and the Granata are still in 17th, just one point ahead of 18th place Bologna.
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Category: Team NewsMercato Rumours: De Sanctis, Thiago Motta, Ronaldinho, Cassano, Huntelaar
By: Neil | 22 Comments
I really don’t like the direction of Donadoni’s Napoli. In fact, the team doesn’t really have a direction right now. Don is trying to bring in more established names to set a solid foundation, but there are problems with this approach. One, established names are a financial risk. We don’t have the financial power to experiment with rejuvenating Ronaldinho’s career. If we want to eventually reach Europe, we need to be getting the most out of our players for the euros spent. Two, many big name players aren’t completely sold on Don’s project. If you look at Napoli’s roster right now, there’s a good young core, but nobody knows whether these core players will leave or not. Pier Paolo Marino claims the players are not for sale, but these days players have the power and if they’re not completely happy they simply won’t give their best.
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Category: Team NewsA Missed Opportunity
By: Neil | 17 Comments
Lecce 1 Napoli 1
This game is a symbol of Donadoni’s time so far. Napoli was a little better than under Reja, but the team just couldn’t find that something extra and settled for a draw. I think the game was there for the taking in the first half. After Pia’s goal Lecce continued to leave all kinds of space at the back, but Napoli didn’t have a killer instinct and Lecce got back in the game with one of those handball penalites that I don’t like being called. A draw was a fair result, as I don’t think either team deserved to win, but in the last fifteen minutes Lecce gave it all they had and put Napoli under a lot of pressure.
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Category: Team NewsLecce vs. Napoli: Giornata 35
By: Neil | 21 Comments
This is an important game. Not because it’s against another southern team. Not because our winless streak on the road is so bad that I’d really like to forget about it. It’s important because Napoli gave a weak effort last Sunday and Lecce will be playing for their Serie A lives. Last time these teams met in December Napoli played one of their better games of the season and cruised to a 3-0 victory. Things have changed in the last five months, as Napoli’s season has fallen apart and both clubs have changed managers.
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Category: Team News
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