Napoli
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Napoli’s lineup is very uncertain. Some reports have Campagnaro being rested and Fernandez in, other have Hugo Boss starting. Other reports have Dzemaili in and Inler resting, and with Cavani and Lavezzi confirmed the third tenor will be one of Hamsik or Pandev. Zuniga looks certain to start in place of Dossena.
De Sanctis – Campagnaro/Fernandez, Cannavaro, Aronica – Maggio, Gargano, Inler/Dzemaili, Zuniga – Hamsik/Pandev, Lavezzi – Cavani
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Siena 1-1 Napoli
Napoli’s 2nd straight 1-1 draw against a team in the bottom 1/3 of Serie A should not have come as a surprise. The same tactics were used as in previous matches, and the same result was obtained. Just like Cesena and Bolgona, Napoli fell behind a goal and fought back dramatically to avoid embarrassment. Special mention goes out to Napoli fan Gnaples who made an incredibly accurate prediction. Not only did Gnaples get the score correct, he almost got both goalscorers and the times of the goals spot on. Check after the jump to see the details of this amazing prediction.
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Same lineup as Bologna. De Sanctis – Campagnaro, Canna, Aronica – Maggio, Inler, Gargano, Dossena – Pandev, Hamsik – Cavani. Siena has three ex-Napoli: Calaio, Mannini, and Contini. Calaio is vice captain and takes penalties. He is also developing a nice striking partnership with Mattia Destro who is on loan from Genoa.
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This is supposed to be a preview of Siena, but we all know what will happen. Napoli will run themselves breathless and fight for every loose ball to maybe scrape a one goal victory against a 17th place team. Ironically, Siena is in between Bologna and Cesena in the standings, which happened to be the last couple of teams that Napoli really struggled against. And if the slimmest of victories doesn’t arrive, we know what Mazzarri will say. “We knew Siena would play the game of their lives, and we did well today but the ball wouldn’t go in. It’s a shame as we deserved more than we got, but even the best of teams can struggle to score at this stadium where Siena defend in numbers.” So you’ll understand why I’m not overly excited about Sunday, and I prefer to look towards the Champions League.
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So it was the pitch’s fault, or maybe it was because the team wants to attack too much and we were too shiny. “More often than not, teams who come to the Stadio San Paolo defend in an exaggerated manner – playing for two results out of three.” (What does that mean?) A few incidents also went against us today. Take Marek Hamsik who missed in front of the goalkeeper. That was like an open-play penalty” (What?) So it’s Hamsik’s fault he missed Napoli’s one and only clear cut chance at home To Bologna. “The teams are here in Naples to make the Barricades and then set off on the break.” We know this, we’ve known this all season, yet you have no counteractive plan. Pioli did it last year with Chievo and he did it again this year, Dear Meza Latrina Mazzari all week we knew Bologna would be set up with a five man back line that would snuff out the threat from Napoli’s two wing backs but did you do anything about it, could you have done anything about it? You play three centre backs against a team not willing to attack and two defensive midfielders, leaving the trident stacked against seven Bologna players. Read the rest of this entry »
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Juve, Milan, and Udinese all failed to win. Napoli can close the gap on the leaders to 8 points which isn’t too bad considering there’s still half the schedule plus one round left. Interesting note: Chelsea signed Bolton defender Gary Cahill who is eligible for the Champions League.
De Sanctis – Hugo Boss, Canna, Aronica – Maggio, Inler, Gargano, Dossena – Pandemonio, Hamsik – Cavani
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A sharp looking in form Goran Pandev came on and dug Napoli out of a hole in the second half of their Coppa Italia match against a spirited Cesena side on Thursday. New signing Eduardo Vargas made his debut and there was also a return to action for Miguel Britos and Marco Donadel after lenghty layoffs. Read the rest of this entry »
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Rosati – Grava, Fernandez, Britos – Zuniga, Donadel, Dzemaili, Dossena – Hamsik, Vargas – Cavani. This is a possible starting lineup for tonight. Other options include Maggio & Zuniga on the wings, and one of Pandev or Chavez as one of the strikers. Who knows? But it looks like Mazzarri will give the first team a big rotation.
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I was wrong about Pandev. Mazzarri said he just needed time to settle in and with said time he’s been doing things I just didn’t know he could do. When that sizzling ball came towards his feet the words ‘what the heck is Pandev going to do with that kind of pass’ came to mind. Then a lovely one touch trap and turn to control it showed that Pandev’s confidence means entrance into a world of finishing that us Napoli fans have not been accustomed to recently. His agent recently commented:
“Pandev is more interested in human aspects than economic ones and Napoli have given him back the dignity of a champion, which is more important than any number in a bank account.”
It couldn’t have been a better inauguration to the second half of the season then to have the big guns start with really emphatic goals…Cavani with a long range screamer that we haven’t seen to much of (but a good way to ensure the opposing backline stays honest), and Hamsik with a goal that defied several geometry laws, all while the arrival of Vargas ensures a healthy competition. Palermo to be fair, early in the game had some scary opportunities that would have totally upset the flow of the game. But some defensive lapses are to be expected after just getting back into the swing of things, (start Zamparini rant) unlike the sort of lapses that will probably accompany Palermo for the rest of their season…and for the rest of their existence as a footy team until Zamparini leaves. He’s already publicly lashed out at Mutti’s tactics…Which leads me to question: why on earth would a coach sign up for the Palermo gig, there should be a coalition set out to boycott coaching that team until Zamparini decides he should fill the role and then have his ‘tactics’ fail miserably. Zamparini is in the top five ‘people I wish I could slap in the face’ list (end Zamparini rant).
Candreva looks to be a realistic acquisition possibility. This is very happy news. Versatility is name of the game and after Santana’s ejection from the Catania game it was hard to say he had much of it. He really was only a squad player on Fiorentina too, replacing the likes of Marchionni (speaking of which, where did this guy disappear to?) and a fatigued Montolivo from time to time. Candreva can play in many midfield roles, and most importantly, on the wing, a tactic that Mazzarri has become accustomed to late in games with Lavezzi. Candreva would perhaps give that role more balance as well as supply Inler and Gargano with an occasional rest. Inler was dominant against Palermo, which confirmed the belief that Mazzarri needs to do a better job of squad rotation. His style of play demands that he get adequate resting time. For now, Napoli will really benefit from an easy next couple of games as Neil pointed out, with no distractions. The look of the table is still a little daunting, but we are basically in the running for another Champions League spot, just can’t afford as many hiccups as before.
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Napoli’s upcoming Coppa Italia match at home to Cesena has been overshadowed by the departure of Giuseppe Mascara to Novara, plus the rumours of a Santana-Candreva trade. Mascara was at Napoli for only one season having been acquired in the previous January window. However, he was popular with the Napoli fans and contributed a few goals along the way. He was never going to be a starter and the arrival of Pandev on loan and then Vargas pushed him further down the ladder. At least he got to taste European football while he was here, although I really can’t remember him seeing the field in any of the CL games. In other moves, Napoli are ready to part with Mario Santana and are looking into Antonio Candreva — ironically on loan at Cesena, who arrive in Napoli for Thursday’s Coppa match.
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