My glass is half full (Reggina review)

By: Joe | March 24th, 2008

Another chapter in the turbulent season that is Napoli’s return to Serie A was written at Reggio Calabria on Saturday. Napoli took an underserved lead in the 31st minute of the second half only to see the full three points slip away on a piece of sloppy defending and clinical finishing in the games final moments. I loved that both goals were scored on assists where the ball was controlled off the chest onto the eventual goal scorer. It was an odd fact for an odd game. The quick turnaround from Wednesday and the anticipation of Easter gave the match the feel that, at least one side, was ready to eat some l’angello e pastiere.

The andata leg of the Reggina tie was primarily remembered for Emmanuele Calaio’s penalty kick miss which cost Napoli the chance to get the victory. Coincidence or not, Calaio really fell off the face of the earth in coach Edy Reja’s world after this miss and once again Calaio played a major role in the ritorno leg…as a ghost. Reja left Calaio on the bench and kept him there, opting to start the Argentine pair of Ezequiel Lavezzi and Roberto Sosa.

I find myself a little indifferent to the result. On the one hand, Napoli once again failed to seal the deal and secure points. You could argue we’ve thrown away seven points this year. Napoli turned a draw into a loss on September 30 against Genoa when Gianello didn’t make a saveable attempt in the 89th. Napoli snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on January 27 when they allowed two goals against bottom-dwellers Cagliari in extra time. That loss galls me more than any single match this season. Last week, against the other Turin club they turned a draw into a loss when Maurizio Domizzi blew an assignment and left Vicenzo Iaquinta alone in the box. Just want to take a moment to hate on Iaquinta. This hack is a poor man’s Pippo Inzaghi. He looks like him. He has his patented “What? Me?” face down pat. He rarely looks to pass and he’s my least favorite Italian this side of Alessandro Del Piero.

On the other hand, we pulled a draw out against Lazio on an extra-time goal by Hamsik and we defeated Livorno way back in September on a late goal that Marco Amelia gifted to us after playing a fantastic match. All in all, the table doesn’t lie and Napoli is mid, mid-bottom team this season. Not good enough for Europe. Not bad enough to be relegated. For our first year in Serie A and what is really, a young organization, the result isn’t too bad. So again, my glass is half full. And hey, did you check out the white unis? We haven’t played with those since 2005? Maybe someone knows for sure.

The game itself was a dull, lifeless affair where Reggina lacked the quality to consistently break down Napoli’s defense and Napoli offered little in the way of creativity or anything resembling an attacking mindset. To be sure the absences of Maurizio Domizzi, Daniele Mannini and Napoli’s tallest midget, Mirko Savini, played a part in Napoli’s lack of…anything. Mannini has shown some ability to distribute the ball and make the cutting pass while Domizzi has fallen off the boil he’s a team leader and has a point to prove if he is looking to jump to a bigger club this summer (I’m not buying that he’ll move, by the way). Back to our best winger. Yes, I’m ready to annoint Savini the award for the best Napoli winger in 2007-08. Sadly, the award doesn’t carry much prestige as the only competition is an Austrian who crosses like a atheist vampire and a Serie B veteran who is so happy to be in the top flight he generously gives up the ball to any opponent who compliments his tattoos. Guh. Erminio Rullo can hardly be considered a player since he only sees the pitch from the stands and when he picks up cones after practice.

Reggina didn’t dominate the match in the way that is obvious to see when you have a team clearly superior in talent. However, outside of a few five minute stretches, Reggina seemed the more determined and aggressive side. Their control was more subtle and really only confirmed when you’ve had a chance to review the statistics. Reggina had 58% possession, more corners, less yellows, less fouls (by extension more free kicks), better passing percentage (69% to 61%), more shots, more crosses and more 50/50 balls won. Yikes. Maybe that is pretty obvious?

Lineups: Napoli
NAPOLI (3-5-2): 22 Gianello, 13 Santacroce, 28 Cannavaro, 96 Contini, 14 Garics, 8 Blasi, 23 Gargano, 17 Hamsik (5 Pazienza 44 s.t.), 2 Grava,
7 Lavezzi (18 Bogliacino 35 s.t.), 9 Sosa.
In panchina: 30 Navarro, 3 Rullo, 4 Montervino, 24 Dalla Bona, 5 Pazienza, 18 Bogliacino, 11 Calaiò . All.: Reja

Once again, Samuele Dalla Bona, Rullo and Calaio didn’t see the pitch. Ah, the joys of Edy Reja’s lineup. Palermo is up next Sunday and they’ve defined insanity. They’ve now fired their coach for the 4th time (?), rehired the coach who started the season, have lost 3 in a row and, oh yeah, they only field 14 players for the match on Sunday. Maybe we could do the unthinkable and actually defeat a squad when they’re down?

Game highlights