Napoli-Empoli match review

By: Joe | September 24th, 2007

The Napoli rugby club are in 5th!

Napoli drew 0-0 with Empoli in Giornata 4 yesterday with nearly half the fans in the Tuscan stadium there to represent the Azzurri from Napoli. A crowd of just under 12,000 saw a back and forth match at the Stadio Carlo Castellani. The battle of the Azzurri’s drew 5,000 Napoli supporters who made the 500 kilometer journey north to see their beloved side. Coach Edy Reja stuck with the attacking formula of Marcelo Zalayeta and Ezequiel Lavezzi in attack and hoped his midfielders and defenders would be able to compensate for the loss of starting keeper Genarro Iezzo who will be missing for at least one more contest. Backup netminder Matteo Gianello made his first Serie A start in a 14-year career.

Despite the lack of goals the contest was not without its moments of brilliance and near misses on both sides. In the first half, Napoli was dangerous right at the starting whistle as in the 3rd minute when Zalayeta and Lavezzi paired up on a combination but El Pocho’s shot skidded past the near post. A minute later Ighli Vannucchi wasted a chance followed by a harmless shot from Guillermo Giacomazzi in the 10th which Gianello saved without trouble. In the 24th Zalayeta and Lavezzi again paired up but El Panteron’s through ball was just beyond Lavezzi’s reach. Sixty seconds later Giacomazzi skimmed the goal but Gianello was impressive by slamming the ball onto the Uruguayan’s player’s legs. In the 27th Empoli defender Daniele Adani knocked Zalayeta down in the penalty area, stretching his leg out and tripping the Napoli striker without touching the ball. Napoli deserved a penalty but the Rizzoli, the referee, waived play on. It wasn’t to be the last controversial decision of the match. Azzurrini starlet Sebastian Giovinco played well in the playmaker role. And in 38th fired a rocket shot that Gianello parried off to the side.

In the 40th minute, Lavezzi shrugged off a foul from Richard Vanigli and was nearly alone on the keeper. However, Rizzoli wrongfully stopped play instead of playing the advantage and booked Vanigli for his harsh tackle. The frustration carried over to the second half when Paolo Cannavaro hit a beautiful shot in the 6th minute but the Tuscan goalkeeper blocked the shot once again. Marek Hamsik slammed left footed strike which grazed the crossbar. Emmanule Calaiò replaced Lavezzi in the 67th and was out to make the most of limited playing time thus far (last year’s cappocannonieri has only played 69 minutes in the first four Serie A matches). Calaio’s wonderfully taken headed strike was saved just off the line by Davide Bassi. In the 42nd minute Luca Saudati had the chance of the match as his left-footed strike hit the inside of the post and missed bouncing in the net by a matter of inches.

Napoli sit 5th in the table but will have their depth tested very quickly. Lavezzi has been sporting a leg injury and was removed from the Empoli match specifically because the leg started bothering him. Iezzo will be missing and Manuele Blasi will miss the match because of yellow card accumulations. Blasi has been booked three times in the first four Serie A matches. Walter Gargano is sitting on two yellows and will miss the Genoa match if he’s booked on Wednesday. Look for Mariano Bogliacino and Calaio to get their first starts of the season. They should be extremely motivated given how the prominent roles they’ve played the past few seasons have been marginalized to a few minutes coming off the bench.

Napoli host Livorno on Wednesday. Expect crowd trouble as the Brigate Autonome Livornesi invade San Paolo with their socialist agenda and Che Guevera banners. Here’s hoping the action stays on the pitch.

Thank you to Danielly McKinley and Elio Lo Conte at CNI for contributing to this report. You can sign up for the CNI-English group and receive other news about Napoli written in English by going to http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/cni-english/
Empoli: Balli; Raggi, Vanigli (Marzoratti 53), Adani; Buscé, Giacomazzi, Moro, Tosto; Giovinco (Marchisio 53), Vannucchi (Pozzi 76); Saudati

Napoli: Gianello; Cupi, Cannavaro, Domizzi, Grava (Contini 90); Blasi, Gargano, Hamsik(Bogliacino 76), Savini; Lavezzi (Calaio’ 67), Zalayeta

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