Napoli Mid-Season Report Card

By: Neil | December 28th, 2008

With the gentle spirit of the Christmas season long behind me – I have a short memory – it is now time to pass judgment on Napoli’s players and management. Today I will look at individual performances, and after I will examine the team as a whole in preparation for the January market.

First, some qualifiers need to be mentioned. This review is for the first half of the season only, meaning that a player’s future potential or past achievement isn’t relevant. But in the commentary I will discuss a player’s general strengths and weaknesses. Evaluating management is a little trickier, as their decisions that affect the on field product were made before the season started. Therefore, with management I will have to go into the past.

The criteria I use is of course completely subjective. A player’s total contribution to the first half of the season will determine his grade. Although factors like games played and consistency have a place, some emphasis will also be on the quality a player was able to demonstrate and his overall value to the team. Players who spent most of the season in the reserves will not be evaluated. Squad players who haven’t seen much action lately, like Vitale and Pia, will be graded.

Finally, a word about the marking scheme. I’m going to list the players from highest grade to lowest grade. This probably isn’t the best way to go about things, but I’ve already decided on this format and I’m not going to change it now. The grade letters I assign have the following meaning:

A range – Champions League quality
B range – Europa League/top half of the table
C range – bottom half of the table/relegation fight

Here is the report card for Napoli’s players from July 2008 to the present:

A+

Ezequiel Lavezzi: Towers over everyone else at the club. Has been Napoli’s best player in the majority of games, and in many games has been the difference by himself. Has grown significantly the last six months, developing his physique and stamina. Keeps getting more comfortable on the ball.

Marek Hamsik: Tactically and technically Napoli’s best midfielder. Knows how to find key spaces at key times, and has a striker’s finishing touch. Starting to take on greater responsibility by improving his defence and taking penalties. The only concern is that he can drift out of a game for long spells, but his strengths make him essential to Napoli’s offence.

Aurelio De Laurentiis: Has put huge amounts of his own money into the club. Hasn’t yet caved into pressure and decided to sell Napoli’s best players to recoup his money. De La is still the driving force behind Napoli’s project, and I can’t imagine the club being run by someone else. A little impulsive at times, especially after losses, but provides everything you could expect from a Serie A President.

A-

Fabiano Santacroce: Put in memorable performances against Juve and Milan. A gifted athlete who can dominate games physically. Reads the game well and can defend both the ground and the air. Generally good at making a breakout pass and starting the transition to offence. A strong tackler, but impulsive and immature at times. Can improve his discipline and focus.

Pier Paolo Marino: Brought all of Napoli’s young stars to the team. Great scouting network all over Europe and South America. Very good at keeping transfers a surprise. His only mistake in building the team has been in defence. Arguably overpaid for certain players – see Rinaudo and Pazienza – but this was bound to happen once Napoli got a reputation as a spending team.

Walter Gargano: A solid all around midfielder with great athleticism and stamina. His passing has improved and he’s showing more composure and maturity on the ball. Great defensively, but needs to develop his offensive tools. A bit raw and impulsive when it comes to making the final pass or shot.

Gennaro Iezzo: I haven’t seen San Gennaro let in a bad goal this year. At 36, still has incredible reflexes and his positioning and reading of the game is top class. Very reliable and doesn’t seem to tire as quickly as last year. Not as mobile as other keepers, and picks up minor injuries here and there, but still Napoli’s undisputed #1.

Christian Maggio: On many nights Superbyke has been an offensive threat with his crosses and his ability to run at defences. He’s in good physical shape and will run up and down the right flank for 90 mins. Surprisingly physical for someone who lacks size. Sometimes gets caught upfield and needs to remember the defensive part of his role.

B+

Paolo Cannavaro: Often displays Champions League quality, but not quite consistent enough. Has a lot of responsibility as the centre man in a three man backline, and is still the heart and soul of Napoli. Strong in the air and in the tackle, but is sometimes a bit slow in reading the game. Very valuable for Napoli as none of the other defenders seem able to play his position as well.

Manuele Blasi: A strong defensive presence in the midfield. At his best he can control the pace and direction of play. Tactically smart and technically very good in tight spaces. Not as effective lately as earlier in the season. Needs to find more motivation to continue playing at his peak form.

Daniele Mannini: Playing out of position on the left side of the field. Good physical presence and strong defensively. Struggles going forward, but this may be because he has a poor left foot. Scored a goal in his only game at right midfield after Maggio’s red card against Milan. Needs to work on his stamina, and like Gargano also needs to improve his final ball.

German Denis: Inconsistent play from a striker hand picked by both Lavezzi and Roberto Sosa. Has a nose for goal, but doesn’t seem comfortable in Napoli’s offence. Seven goals is a good return, but needs to play better against top teams. Scores regular goals against teams like Bologna, Reggina and Lecce, but hasn’t shown himself to be a difference in big games. Needs to show his quality against top defenders to become a permanent starter along Lavezzi.

Matteo Contini: A powerful aerial player and strong physically, but that’s about it. Pretty reliable defensively and competent in reading the game, but sometimes struggles with quick and creative attackers. His major weakness is his tendency to clear balls straight back to the other team. Needs to work on bringing the ball under control and looking for a breakout pass.

Edy Reja: Very good at creating unity and team spirit. Gives players defined roles and has created a strong first eleven. Pays close attention to fitness and team psychology. Has shown some willingness to experiment, but doesn’t adapt his approach enough when problems arise. Not a detailed oriented coach, and defintely not an ideal manager for young players. Makes some bizarre substitutions and doesn’t work bench players in too well, but these are smaller flaws.

Andrea Russotto: Shows glimpses of great ability, especially in beating men one on one. Doesn’t have a clearly defined role, and is often thrust into games when Napoli is desperate for a goal. Needs to get more playing time to grow, and needs to play in more situations – not just when a goal is desperately needed.

Nicolas Navarro: Has looked good in 2 Serie A games this season against Lazio and Siena. Conceded twice against Benfica in the UEFA Cup, and needs to learn how to dominate the six yard box. Doesn’t have Iezzo’s experience and ability to read the game yet.

B-

Salvatore Aronica: Struggled a bit upon his arrival but has played much better of late. Aronica has shown more all around skill than Contini, but makes too many defensive mistakes for a starter. Needs to anticipate the play better on the defensive end. A good late game sub when a lead needs to be protected, either in defence or at left wingback.

Luigi Vitale: Played well in Mannini’s absence but ultimately couldn’t win the starting left wingback position. Decent attacking skills but hasn’t always played with initiative. Defence has been a concern, but that could be just a lack of maturity and experience. Still useful as a bench player but needs to improve and become more consistent.

Inacio Pia: Got off to a great start in July in the Intertoto and UEFA Cups. Hasn’t been used much lately, and seems to be well down the pecking order for attacking players. Has some talent and creativity, but suffers from a lack of size and muscle.

Marcelo Zalayeta: Struggling to establish his best form despite being handed many chances to win the starter’s job from Denis. Lack of goals his biggest problem: his finishing touch seems to have abandoned him. Works hard on defence, but control and touch let him down in the 18 yard box. Needs Lavezzi to bring out the best in him.

C+

Mariano Bogliacino: Hasn’t played very much since returning from a major injury. Scored the first goal against Panionios in Napoli’s 2-0 aggregate Intertoto victory before shattering his ankle. A smart attacking player but his defence is suspect.

Leandro Rinaudo & Michele Pazienza: I’m lumping them together because their situations are similar. Both are young players. Both have been touted as good prospects starting to enter their prime years. Both cost the club a fair amount of money. Both have had plenty of opportunities to establish themselves as a starter. And both have shown very little. It’s rumoured that they’re “unsettled” but it seems to be another Calaio situation where the players have a hard time accepting the consequences of their own mediocre play. I’d love to know what abilities people see in these two. If they were really that good, why did Palermo and Fiorentina allow them to leave? Both of those clubs tend to hold onto good young players. Either I’m missing something, or Pier Paolo Marino uncharacteristically bought some overrated players.

Matteo Gianello: Gianello is a great team player so I hate to put him last, but in his only two games he let in bad goals against Benfica and Genoa. He showed last year that’s he’s a very good keeper, but he doesn’t have a future here. He needs a situation where he can compete for the starting job.

And that’s my take on individual performances for the first half of Napoli’s 2008-09 campaign. Let the disagreements begin.