News and Notes Ahead of Saturday’s Showdown

By: Neil | October 14th, 2008

None of our international players saw any action over the weekend. Hamsik was an unused sub in Slovakia’s 3-1 win over San Marino - he may have been rested for Wednesday’s more important game against Poland - while Santacroce, Maggio, and Gargano did not even make the bench. In fact, I’m not even sure if Garagno was a part of the Uruguay squad - I just assumed he was without doing any actual research. In any case, Uruguay, with or without Gargano, lost to Argentina 2-1.

Both Maggio and Santacroce will probably be reserves for Wednesday’s match against Montenegro in Lecce. Azzurri boss Marcello Lippi revealed that Maggio was only picked because of an injury to Camoranesi. This does not look good for his international future: it’s safe to assume that when everyone is healthy, Maggio will be on the outside of the Nazionale. Still, he deserved to be included based on his play over the last year, even if it’s only because other teammates are injured.

Santacroce is a different story. He’s considerably younger than Maggio, and has lots of room for improvement. Both him and Rinaudo are being tracked by AC Milan, but Marino considers Santacroce one of our untouchables. It’s also unlikely Rinaudo will leave, unless Milan offers ridiculous money, or he’s made a private transfer request. I’ve been critical of Rinaudo thus far, but it takes some time to adjust to a three man defence when you’re used to a back four. I really think Santacroce could benefit from better coaching. Reja does not seem like a detail oriented coach, and hopefully Fabiano picked up some valuable advice during his two weeks under Lippi.

On the injury front, Mariano Bogliacino has started training by himself. His recovery is going as planned, and he should make a return sometime in November. I think he’s a better option than Pazienza coming off the bench, although Pazienza may be a little better defensively.

While we’re getting Bogliacino back in November, Navarro might be leaving in January. Apparently he’s unhappy with being the number three keeper, and he could be loaned out to an Argentinian club where he would be first choice.

The schedule has been set for the Coppa Italia round of 16. Napoli will host Salernitana on Wednesday, November 12. This is not a two-legged affair, so it’s a single game elimination format with the possibility of extra time and penalties. Currently Salernitana sit in 5th place in Serie B, just four points behind leaders Empoli. Like any derby match, it promises to be a passionate encounter where anything can happen. Napoli need to take this game very seriously.

I found this very interesting - former Torino (and Napoli) coach Walter Novellino has spoken very highly of the current Napoli team. Here is the link to that story:

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=908996

If you read the interview very carefully, it sounds like Novellino is setting himself up as a candidate for the manager’s job should Reja leave. To be honest, I hope we can bring in someone with a higher profile, someone who has lots of recent Champions League experience. It’s not only Novellino who has publicly praised Napoli - former Juve player Fabrizio Ravanelli has tipped the Partenopei for a Champions League place:

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=909408

Also, Genoa defender and Napoletano Domenico Criscito has claimed Napoli are currently better than Roma and Milan. Although Genoa have recently played all three teams at the Marassi, Criscito is no doubt biased in favour of his hometown club, and you can’t blame him for that.

Looking ahead to Juve, the game will be played Saturday night as the anticipo. Reja has considered playing Lavezzi, Denis, and Zalayeta as part of an attacking trident:

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=905208

Perhaps he was impressed with the 3-4-3 formation Genoa used to defeat us, but it’s not clear how he will accomodate another striker. We could go with a four man midfield of Maggio, Blasi, Gargano, and Hamsik, but at this point I think Reja will stick with the 3-5-2. But if we don’t get results soon - our next game after Juve is Lazio - he may start experimenting against some of the weaker sides.

That’s about it for now. I’ve noticed lately there’s been a lot more coverage of Napoli on the English language websites. I remember when the team was in C1 I had to do a bit of work just to get the match results. Now, there’s no shortage of interviews and the rumour mill is constantly spinning. It seems like Napoli is about to become a force again. See you next time with a preview of Juventus , who come into the game as underdogs…