Napoli Midweek Update

By: Neil | March 19th, 2009

Daniele Mannini’s drug ban has been frozen until April 3rd, when a more lenient sentence is expected to be given. Until then, Mannini is able to play, although he has been out of action since mid-January. However, his return is crucial because Napoli are missing a number of midfielders and defenders ahead of Sunday’s showdown with AC Milan at the San Paolo.

First off, our problems in defence are the most noteworthy. Aronica is suspended for accumulating five yellow cards, Vitale is still injured, and Rinaudo has chicken pox, which leaves us thin everywhere. Contini, Cannavaro, and Santacroce will likely slide over one spot leaving the right defence position open. Contini is not a natrual outside defender, so this could be a weakness. But I would like to see Santacroce back in the middle with Cannavaro. It’s where he played with Brescia and I think he could be more effective in the middle than on the outside. As for the right back position, Maggio is gone for the season so it will be either Mannini, Montervino, or Grava. Mannini and Grava have not seen any recent action – in fact Grava has not played all year – leaving Montervino the favourite to earn a start at right back. It’s possible Pazienza could also drop back, but since we’re also short in midfield he’ll likely retain the right mid position he occupied last week. I really think we need to restructure our defence in the off season. With Don playing four at the back we need eight defenders, two for each position. If Contini’s contract expires I wouldn’t mind seeing it not renewed.

As for the game itself, the San Paolo is expected to sell out. And Ronaldinho is eager to play in the house of Maradona. A goal.com report mentions that Donadoni is planning “radical changes” in order to secure Napoli its first win since January. I wonder what these changes are?? The injury list means there is limited personnel to choose from, so I imagine the changes would be in tactics or strategy. I would like to see a trident attack with Lavezzi and Russotto on either side of Denis/Zalayeta. The Christmas tree formation would also be a good experiment. Don also tested the 3-4-1-2, which is very close if not identical to Reja’s 3-5-2 where Hamsik played as attacking mid.

PierPaolo Marino believes the game will be an 80’s classic, but due to Napoli’s 11th place in the table I think that is overstating things. Earlier in the season when the teams were both in the top four you could say it brought back memories of the 80’s, but I think Napoli has a long way to go before it’s a perennial qualifier for Europe. It’s interesting to hear Marino say that Borriello is “a player we like.” But he’s also right that Milan shouldn’t be giving up on him anytime soon.

Also, while we’re on Napoletani, Iaquinta has been linked with Atletico Madrid. Atletico has been in the Champions League recently and can offer Iaquinta more money and a higher chance of playing in Europe. Like Borriello, it’s unlikely that he’ll be coming to Napoli anytime soon. But there’s better news on the Cannavaro front: Real Madrid are interested in signing Bruno Alves. Fabio will not stay at Real Madrid to occupy a seat on the bench for most of the important games. Plus, the arrival of Donadoni and the change to four at the back means he’ll give Napoli more consideration at the end of the season. All we need is for DeLa to pay him what he’s worth…

In another news item, former Napoli keeper Claudio Garella believes Navarro is not a great keeper. He notes that Napoli’s freefall coincides with Iezzo’s absence, which is interesting but not the only reason behind Napoli’s slump. He points to Marchetti and Consigli as examples of good young goalies, and I would agree that Navarro is not in the same class as either.

Stay tuned for a (hopefully) more accurate preview of Napoli vs. Milan closer to game day.