Reja’s Job is Safe and Other News

By: Neil | December 3rd, 2008

After the jump:
- Reja still has a future at Napoli
- Denis wanted by big Spanish club
- Italian and Spanish clubs tracking Zalayeta
- Calaio interview

Napoli President Aurelio de Laurentiis has given manager Edy Reja a vote of confidence after the Partenopei have picked up just 4 points from their last 5 league games. It seems that many Napoli fans are eager to see Reja gone, but mid season is definitely not the right time to do it. Although the Friulian boss has shown repeated tactical weaknesses, the team is still growing and there’s no reason to shake things up to solve a few tactical problems. In the big picture the season is still less than 50% complete, and Napoli’s 4th place showing represents a significant improvement on where the team was last year. Reja should probably finish out the season for the sake of continuity. Still, it’s becoming clear that Reja can only take this team so far, and the club should start lining up candidates if a change is necessary next summer.

Reportedly a large Spanish club – believed to be Real Madrid – made inquiries about Napoli striker German Denis. The fact that Denis wouldn’t even negotiate with the club shows he’s got character. On the field, though, Denis has proven to be an enigma. There have been flashes of his skill inside the 18 yard box, but he seems to be struggling to adapt to Napoli’s tactical approach. Even though Zalayeta doesn’t have as much skill in front of goal, his willingness to link up with the midfield and help out on defence has kept Denis on the bench for long spells. But given the large amount of money invested in Denis, it seems that Zalayeta will be the odd man out.

Earlier reports had Zalayeta being followed by several La Liga clubs, but now it appears both Roma and Bologna are scouting the Uruguayan power forward. Zalayeta was leading the team in scoring last season before going down with a major injury that saw him out of action for around six months. Since making his return to the Napoli squad Zalayeta has scored two goals, but hasn’t always displayed a striker’s touch in front of goal. He has proven valuable in other ways, as his back heeled assist for Lavezzi showed last Sunday. And also his defending has improved since last season, giving Reja reason enough to field him ahead of Denis.

Former Napoli striker Emanuele Calaio may start for Siena when the Tuscan club visits the San Paolo on Sunday. Currently Siena manager Marco Giampaoloa prefers Massimo Maccarone and the Algerian Abdelkader Ghezzal as starting strikers, but Calaio might be handed a start at the stadium where he scored crucial goals in Napoli’s Serie C and Serie B campaigns. In an interview Calaio spoke very fondly of his time in Napoli, and said he won’t celebrate if he scores against his former team. I think this custom is very charming, but sometimes it’s made into a much bigger deal than necessary. Still, it’s always nice to see former Napoli players staying loyal to the city and the team despite moving on for professional reasons, in this case a fallout with Reja.

Napoli drew both games with Siena last season, including a 0-0 result at the San Paolo. The Robur have conceded only 12 goals so far this season – three fewer than Napoli – and it could be another defensive battle. I’ll provide a more in depth preview of Siena in the near future, but this is shaping up to be a must win game for Napoli.