Napoli – Lecce preview

By: Neil | December 11th, 2008

Juventus. AC Milan. Inter. Chelsea. Man United. Barcelona. Real Madrid.
All of these teams are tracking one or more of our three best players: Lavezzi, Santacroce, and Hamsik. As Napoli continues to challenge for a Champions League place, speculation over the future of these players will only get more sensational. You can watch them all in action against Lecce this Saturday on Fox Soccer Channel at 2:30 ET, 11:30 PT, or 20:30 CET.

Although DeLa has repeatedly stated his desire to hold on to everyone, apparently he isn’t too happy about all the reported pay raise demands. In a fierce outburst, he blasted one of Napoli’s young players – probably Lavezzi – who is seeking an improved contract. The only problem with DeLa’s thinking is that European football is a special market, with very little in common with other professions. Maybe it is ridiculous that young players these days touch over a million Euros after taxes, but the football market is so competitive if Napoli can’t meet their competitor’s wages, the players will eventually leave when their contracts expire. Although young players like Lavezzi, Hamsik, and now Nico Navarro love the city of Naples, loyalty will only take you so far. A team has to pay market value for their players, which in Napoli’s case is difficult to do until Champions League qualification is secured.

But on to Lecce. Last year they finished third in Serie B, and won their playoff matches with Pisa and AlbinoLeffe to gain promotion. In fact, Lecce has spent much of the last twenty years bouncing back and forth between Serie A & B. Their best ever finish in Serie A was 9th in 1989 under legendary manager Carlo Mazzone, and they recently finished 10th in 2004, led by current Lazio boss Delio Rossi. The history lesson seems to be that if Lecce have a good manager, they can not only avoid relegation but finish mid-table. Current boss Mario Beretta has recently saved Siena from the drop for two straight seasons, and could do the same with Lecce. They sit in 16th place, just one point above the relegation zone, but have put up some impressive results on the road this season, grabbing away draws against Lazio, Atalanta, and Catania.

Like most smaller Serie A teams, they have a few recongnizable names consisting of on loan players, veterans winding down their career, or prospects not yet bought by a larger club. Some of Lecce’s higher profile players include defender Gugliemo Stendardo on loan from Lazio, and forward Simone Tiribocchi, whose goals were a major reason why Lecce was promoted last year. Daniele Cacia should partnerr Tiribocchi in attack, but from the projected starting eleven those are the only names I could identify.

Napoli’s only absence is keeper Gennaro Iezzo, who will miss his second straight game with a bad back. Back up Navarro hasn’t seen much action since being acquired in January, and can’t make very many mistakes if he wants to compete for the #1 job. I don’t mind the system of having a injury prone veteran as #1 and a good prospect as #2. It takes some of the pressure off the young keeper, and whenever Iezzo gets minor ailments Navarro gets his chance.

Vitale could replace Mannini as Reja looks to get more offence from the left wingback position, and Denis should replace Zalayeta as starting striker.

Napoli projected lineup: Navarro – Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini – Maggio, Blasi, Gargano, Hamsik, Mannini – Lavezzi, Denis

Lecce projected lineup: Benussi – Schiavi, Stendardo, Fabiano, Esposito – Munari, Giacomazzi, Vives, Ariatti – Cacia, Tiribocchi

This is a good situation for Napoli: a second straight home game, played on a Saturday night. And with Juve playing Milan on Sunday night, Napoli could find themselves tied for third at the end of the weekend. Forza Napoli !!