A good old Southern Italian matchup

By: Joe | November 2nd, 2007

I have a soft spot for almost any southern Italian side. The way I look at it, you can combine the financial resources of just about every side south of Rome and you wouldn’t come close to what Massimo Moratti has available at Inter and that club up in Turin. The cache, influence and good old fashioned dinero they have at their disposal is not something that’s available to any southern side. So, we’re all in it together, right? I think this sympathy becomes even greater when you’re dealing with the Calabrese. All of Italy loves cracking jokes at our expense. So I wish you all luck in your battle to stave off relegation this year, but I still wanna kick your ass on Sunday. No offense.

Long time coach, and former Napoli man, Renzo Ulivieri takes over for Massimo Ficcadenti in time for this weekend’s match the Stadio San Paolo. Reggina failed to notch a victory after their first 10 matches (0-5-5) and the loss against the previously winless Socialist Republic of Livorno proved too much for Reggina President Lillo Foti to bear.

Reggina are a shell of the squad that surprised Serie A last year. Gone are coach Walter Mazzari (Sampdoria), captain and heart of the backline Alessandro Lucarelli (Siena), longtime defensive midfielder Giandomenica Mesto (Udinese), veteran midfielder Giacomo Tedesco (Catania), Pasquale Foggia (on loan from Lazio was loaned to Cagliari), Rolando Bianchi (Manchester City).
Reggina did bring back Francesco Cozza who starred for the team a few years ago and holds the Reggina record most appearances (142) and three players from Serie B (DF Carlos Valdez from Treviso, MF Emmanuel Cascione from Rimin and FW Joelson from Albinoleffe)….and nothing more. So you didn’t have to be Nostradamus to figure out this side was going to struggle and struggle mightily this year.

Keeper Andrea Campagnolo who made 15 appearances last year returns in net but the quality in front of him has dropped precipitously. Salvatore Aronica, who Napoli chased during the calciomercato before settling on Matteo Contini, and Valdes form Reggina’s central defense while Francesco Modesto and Maurizio Lanzaro are the fullbacks in Reggina’s 4-4-1-1 formation. While Ulivieri favors the 4-2-3-1 he simply lacks the midfield depth to play in that manner. Lanzaro is just getting back from suspension as he picked up four yellows in their first nine matches. Must be something about the name Maurizio as own beloved red-assed Roman at fullback also collects yellows at an alarming pace. Look for their backline to foul the hell out of Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik. I’d imagine this will only intensify as the game wears on and that backline gets weary and these two run their asses off in the midfield and in the attacking third. You add the Mighty Mouse himself, Walter Gargano, and it could be a long day for the Amaranti.

Reggina seem to have a difficult time maintaining possession due to a lack of quality in their midfield. Of their 17 goals surrendered (2nd worst), 12 have been given up in the 2nd half and eight in the last 15 minutes of each match. Clearly this squad either doesn’t have the stamina or they chase the ball so much for 75 minutes that three subs aren’t enough fresh bodies. I vote for the latter. They can be successful bunkering down as their draws against Atalanta, Siena and Palermo have proven. A bit of El Pocho magic will be in order this Sunday. If Napoli can keep 33-year old Nicola Amoruso in check (he’s scored four of their six goals) then a positive result is in order.

The teams have met one other time in Serie A at the San Paolo. In December 2000, Napoli pounded the Calabrese side 6-2.

Coach Edy Reja may make some changes to the lineup. There have been hints that Gianluca Grava may take the right winger position back from Gyorgy Garics (tell me again why we gave up Ivano Trotta for nothing…his crosses were fantastic and he was certainly no slouch in defense) and Andrea Cupi was unimpressive against Fiorentina and he may not turn out to be the regular right back. Contini has more pace and while he isn’t as experienced as Cupi, he’s more likely to be able to go the full 90. Otherwise, I don’t see much else changing and I’ll give up thinking Sam Dalla Bona is going to get a minute of time or that Emmanuele Calaio is ever going to get in the starting XI. We need another Marcelo Zalayeta dive in the box so we can again wring our hands over the state of Italian football. Only this time, the suspension needs to stick. Whatever, don’t hold your breath.

Injuries/suspensions/on the edge:
Napoli: Manuele Blasi is out for at least three more weeks with a strained MCL in his left knee, Marek Hamsik sat out of training today with a sore Achilles tendon but should play. (N), One more yellow from Savini, Gargano or Domizzi and they’ll have to sit out the next match (Palermo).
Reggina: none that I could find

Form Reggina (D-D-L-D-L) 3GF, 6 GA Napoli (L-L-D-W-L) 9 GF, 10 GA

FORZA NAPOLI!