It only feels like a loss

By: Joe | November 5th, 2007

There’s no doubt many Napoli fans went into yesterday’s match against Reggina expecting to walk away with three points. The Amaranto hadn’t won in their first 10 Serie A matches (they did manage to beat Piacenza in the Coppa Italia in late August) and their anemic offense was matched by their porous defense. Reggina have been reeling all season and new coach Renzo Ulivieri had just taken over three days before the match. Easy pickings, right?

The Azzurri looked set to dominate…and they did. From the opening minutes, Napoli looked the more dangerous side and Marek Hamsik had two golden opportunities in the first half which would’ve changed the complexion of the match and forced Reggina to do more than absorb the pressure. Unfortunately, both his opportunities were hit right into a well positioned Campagnolo who stymied the Azzurri. The chance of the half may have come in the 27th when Gianluca Grava (back after two matches without any action and with the captain’s armband) weaved his way into the box around a defender and hit a low shot…err cross which was right into the oncoming legs of Maurizio Domizzi and Marcelo Zalayeta who both missed a golden chance to put Napoli in the lead with a simple tap-in into an open net. Reggina’s best chance of the half was when Contini and Valdez hugged each other to the ground on a free kick right outside the penalty box that could’ve easily been called a PK but both players were at fault and the ref swallowed his whistle. There’s always a chance of disaster striking when the side that dominates a half goes into the locker room without the precious goal. An entire afternoon can be thrown away by one lapse in concentration.

Reggina seized upon that moment of confusion in the 54th minute when Gargano’s pass hit a Reggina midfielder and sent the side off on a counter-attack. Matteo Contini broke up the attack with an excellent slide tackle but surrendered the corner and this proved to be Reggina’s moment. Somehow Luca Vigiani was left unmarked between Erminio Rullo and Zalayeta at the near post and hit a glancing header past a helpless Genarro Iezzo. An afternoon of domination was seemingly out the door and Napoli were left scrambling for the equalizer that would save the embarrassment of the third home defeat this year after a nearly 2-and-a-half year run of matches at the San Paolo without a loss.

Mariano Bogliacino, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Zalayeta rained the pressure on Reggina’s net as they searched for the equalizer. Bogliacino’s header off a Rullo cross was tipped over the bar and coach Edy Reja assessed his options on the bench. Rather than inserting a playmaking midfielder (Roberto De Zerbi), Reja continued using Roberto Sosa as his first option off the bench replacing Matteo Contini. So Napoli slipped into a 4-3-3 with Rullo and Grava dropping back to LB and RB and Hamsik, Walter Gargano and Bogliacino in MF. The problem with this formation is that it puts even more pressure on Napoli’s weakest position (fullbacks/wingers) as the midfield presence of Napoli was reduced. Additionally, Lavezzi would then have to drop even further back to get the ball.

Of course, it was Lavezzi himself who would change this match not once but twice over the last 15 minutes. El Pocho picked up the ball at the halfway stripe and drove right at the Reggina defense in the 75th. He made a beautiful diagonal run into the box where Salvatore Aronica simply lowered his shoulder into the Argentine for a clear cut penalty.

And here’s where the soap opera began.

Domizzi has taken Napoli’s three penalty kicks thus far and has hit each one expertly into either corner. Calaio led Napoli in scoring the last two years but has only one start on the year and has been a 10 minute sub for the majority of the season. The events surrounding the penalty kick are these: when the ref signalled for the penalty, the tifosi were chanting Domizzi’s name, then Calaio signaled for Domizzi and said “I’ll take it.” Reja could be seen screaming from the touchline for Domizzi to take the spot kick. Gyorgy Garics comes over to Domizzi and asks him why he’s not taking it, but Domizzi signals to Calaio and that’s the end of it. Meanwhile, Reja is still screaming for Domizzi to take the kick. Calaio hits a low shot just to the right of Campagnolo who easily parries the ball away and leaves Napoli now scrambling for the equalizer against a side that hadn’t won all year long. Afterwards, Calaio apologizes and says he wanted to take the kick and is at fault here. Yeah, nice deductive reasoning, Einstein. It sure as hell ain’t my fault. Meanwhile, Reja distanced himself from the controversy and said the players on the pitch decide who takes the kick. Nice going, Edy. I don’t know what I expect him to say, but I sure expect him to kick some ass this week.

So Napoli is left scrambling for the equalizer. Gargano and Lavezzi played a nice combination of passes in the box but Gargano took one touch too many to get it onto his left foot and allowed the Reggina keeper time to slide over and make an easy save. I know it’s easier said than done, but shooting quickly and not allowing the keeper to set his feet are basic facts these guys should know. Just before the fourth official announced the additional extra time Napoli had a free kick from just inside its center circle. A beautiful free kick which was punched up but not out and the resulting scramble in the box found the ball at Lavezzi’s feet who hit the back of the net and showed us all of Lavezzi’s tattoos (including one of a gun he has at his belt line…nice, I didn’t need to know that dude).

So despite outshooting Reggina 14-7 and outcornerning them 9-1, Napoli settles for a single point in a disappointing afternoon.

Box score:
Napoli - Iezzo; Contini (15′ s.t. Sosa), Cannavaro, Domizzi; Grava, Hamsik, Gargano, Bogliacino, Rullo (29′ s.t. Garics); Lavezzi, Zalayeta (21′ s.t. Calaiò)
Reggina - Campagnolo; Lanzaro, Valdez, Aronica; Modesto, Barreto, Cascione, Vigiani (39′ s.t. Alvarez), Hallfredsson; Ceravolo (1′ s.t. Joelson, 43′ s.t. Missiroli), Amoruso

Video highlights:
Long version
Short version

Palermo is next and they’ll be without Amauri & Guana (suspensions) and possibly Miccoli, Bresciano and Migliaccio for injury.