Napoli vs. Cagliari: Giornata 13

By: Neil | November 22nd, 2008

No disrespect to Cagliari, especially since they did the double over us last year, but right now Napoli really need a home game against a team that usually finishes in the bottom third. Although this isn’t a ‘big’ game, it will be a useful one to determine whether or not Napoli has lost their early season form.

Our first twelve weeks saw a lot of battles, and if you look at the fixture list Napoli may have had the most difficult schedule of any team:

Roma away
Fiorentina home
Udinese away
Palermo home
Bologna away
Genoa away
Juve home
Lazio away
Reggina home
Milan away
Sampdoria home
Atalanta away

It’s one thing to play three or four weeks in a row against top teams, but Napoli has played all of Serie A’s best teams, except for Inter (next week) in the first twelve weeks. So far we’ve played only two teams, Bologna and Reggina, who are considered relegation candidates.

I’m not sure if Cagliari is a relegation candidate, but they’re definitely a small market team. No team in Serie A is easy, but it’s preferable fighting a battle against a team without world class superstars like Amauri or Milito. Cagliari does have some notable players (see below) but on the whole there’s much less to fear.

Should Napoli be worried after losing to Cagliari twice last year? Is Cagliari one of those teams that we should always beat but seem to struggle against? No and no. If you look at last year’s games, there were unusual circumstances in both games. The first game, a 2-0 loss at home, was the season opener and Napoli’s first game back in Serie A after many years. There was an unbelievable amount of pressure on Napoli to celebrate their return to Serie A with a victory, and in the end the more experienced Sardinians took their chances better despite being outplayed much of the game. For the second game in Cagliari, Napoli were missing the suspended Reja. Assistant manager Fabio Viviani did an admirable job filling in, and Napoli were poised for a 1-0 win, but Cagliari grabbed two late goals to steal a victory. To suggest that those two games are part of a pattern is a little misleading. But plenty of credit to Cagliari for beating us twice, something very few teams could do last year.

Since the second loss in Sardinia last January, Napoli has grown in both talent and stature. For Cagliari to get even a draw would be a significant upset. Yet Cagliari does have an intriguing mix of young prospects. The key man is striker Robert Acquafresca, who might not play due to an injury picked up in last week’s 1-0 victory over Fiorentina. Acquafresca is owned by Inter, and is being loaned out to Cagliari to get regular first team football. Next year he will return to the Milan club unless the sides agree to another loan deal. Acquafresca’s strengths are his quickness and his composure in front of goal. He has been a regular in Italy’s U-21 team, and he is a good bet to make the jump to the senior Azzurri.

The other notable name is goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, who was recently named as Italy’s best young portiere by Gianluigi Buffon. Marchetti has played the last two seasons at AlbinoLeffe, where he was instrumental in the club’s rise to fame as they led Serie B for part of the year, defeated Brescia in the playoffs, and lost to Lecce for the final promotion spot. I have never seen Marchetti play, and it will be interesting to see how he fares against Napoli’s potent attack.

Between the other goalposts Iezzo is playing his 100th game in a Napoli jersey. I like how he managed to say a few diplomatic words about his time in Cagliari. I get the impression he would have stayed at Cagliari for longer if Napoli hadn’t come calling.

Here is a link to the goal.com preview. It’s not only much more informative than anything I could come up with, but it also brings up an interesting story about some unnamed players frequenting nighclubs. It’s one thing to have fun and celebrate the team’s success by enjoying a night out, but if it’s not done in moderation it can derail a career (see Adriano).

For the Cagliari perspective, please check out Jeremy’s Cagliari offside page. Some players to watch, other than the two mentioned above, include Biondini, Cossu, and the Brazilian Jeda.

Napoli probable formation: Iezzo – Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini – Maggio, Blasi, Gargano, Hamsik, Mannini – Denis, Lavezzi

TV options are limited to finding a good internet stream. Forza Napoli!