temper, temper
By: Joe | October 15th, 2007If Italians are known for their short fuse and outbursts, then Napoletanos are challenged only by Sicilianos for the undisputed heavyweight champions of Italian red-asses. Maybe it has something to do with living in the shadow of an active volcano that can erupt and wipe out the city in a day, maybe it’s driven by an inferiority complex of having Northern Italians look down their nose at you or maybe it’s because every single moment in the city has a backdrop of people shouting and cars screeching and honking. All that noise can make you edgy and nervous…especially if you’re a footballer who has lost two matches in a row going into a two week break.
Roberto Sosa, Maurizio Domizzi and Ezequiel Lavezzi (and his fiancee) all started to crack this week. Domizzi and Sosa were involved in an altercation in training when Sosa took exception to a rough tackle. I’m not sure Domizzi knows any other way to tackle. The reason he has quickly become a fan favorite in his two years in Napoli is precisely because he’s such a fierce competitor and would just as soon run you over as to say hello. Sosa and Lavezzi Domizzi came to blows (I know the Channel 4 story says they only traded “insults” but other reports commented on how the two were throwing haymakers) on the training ground at Castelvolturno. Kudos to Roberto Sosa for stepping up and being the first to apologize.
Coach Edy Reja and Diretorre Generale Pier Paolo Marino were said to be pretty upset and will look to clear the matter up today. They’ll also have to sort out a little trouble their star Argentenian playmaker got into this weekend. Lavezzi got into a car accident around midnight on Saturday morning and when the other people involved asked Lavezzi for money to pay for the damages, El Pocho went El Loco and his girlfriend/fiancee took off her belt and started kicking some ass with it. Priceless…and I thought belts were the exclusive weapon of Dads used when their son hosts a Senior Prom bash with 20 of his closest friends when he’s out of town. In any case, El Pocho has a lot of ’splaining to do. Thus far our tifosi have been shut out of seeing their squad play once already, they’re now banned from seeing their second straight road match and three of their best players are can’t control their tempers. I knew this season was going to be exciting. My hope was for more ‘top of the table’ excitement then this nonsense.
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Congratulations to Paolo Cannavaro for getting his first Azzurri callup. Fabio’s little brother has played a solid center back for the past year and a half (though, to be fair Domizzi has played better) and will train with Donadoni in preparation for Italia’s friendly against South Africa on Wednesday. We’ll see how much he plays as Donadoni has called in an “expiremental side” for this friendly (read: the “B” team). Napoli hasn’t had a player feature for the Azzurri since March 1992 when Nando De Napoli played. De Napoli also holds the record for most appearances by a Napoli player for the Nazionale (49). It’d be more than nice to see Cannavaro actually get some time on the pitch.
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Comments
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Hey Joe, Do you think Calaio will ever start again?
Posted from
United States
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From what I’ve seen of Reja, Zalayeta will need to fall on his face at least two more times until he gives Calaio his starting spot back.
I haven’t heard Calaio complain much about the lack of playing time and that’s to his credit. He’s always come across as a class guy. I think at this rate, though, that Reja may give Sosa the armband and Zalayeta’s spot before giving it back to Calaio. I’m not saying that’s right or I agree with it, it’s just my take on what may happen.
Zalayeta hasn’t looked dangerous at all for a few matches now and Napoli need a target man up front or they’ll be likely to see their nice start go for naught.Posted from
United States -
You’re right he is a good guy. I just feel Calaio has been such a big part of the team in the past few years, and is very capable of scoring when he gets the chance. I also miss one of the best goal celebrations ever. I’ll still proudly wear his jersey whatever happens.
Posted from
United States -
I think the problems and frustrations go deeper than the two recent losses. There were a lot of new players brought in during the offseason. This set up an old guard vs. new guard split. Many of the old guard aren’t getting much playing time, and you can’t have a signficant chunk of your team unhappy, even if it’s the reserve players. After Napoli were promoted I recall Reja saying he didn’t want to bring in too many players, and I think most of the new signings were done by Marino. Although most of the signings have a lot of talent it’s disrupted the unity that Reja worked so hard to build over the last two years. I have no idea whose team this is. Off the field it should be Reja’s but Marino is using him like a puppet, on the field there’s a rotating captain which is never good if there’s conflict. Basically, I think there’s been a lot of behind the scenes tension, and we’re starting to see it come out in public now.
Posted from
Canada -
Well you’re dead on a a good many things, Neil. First off, all the signings were done by Marino. Reja’s status was tenuous through most of the summer. He only just got a one-year deal done right before the summer training in Austria (Reja had been holding out for a two-year deal that never materialized). This is undoubtedly Marino’s team. While Reja has guided them to two straight promotions, I never got the sense that Reja’s position was very safe. There’s always been a feeling from what I’ve read that he’s only a month long bad stretch from getting the sack.
Reja’s rotating captain bit has always confused me. He stuck with Montervino last year way too long (like 10 games too long) all because he had the armband and then did the same thing with Sosa later on in the year. This year he’s doing it again with Grava being captain.
Posted from
United States -
Actually I think Hamsik was Reja’s choice (and a good one). Hamsik was the first one signed after promotion, and he fits Reja’s pattern of bringing players up from one level to the next. Marino’s pattern is bringing in flashy, name players, perhaps from abroad. Marino would not be scouting Serie B for a young little known Slovak.
It’s ironic that Marino has taken the approach to buy high profile talent. The reason Napoli went bankrupt was because they spent money to solve on field problems, which is no guarantee of success. Now Marino wants the team to play in Europe after next season. I think it’s the fixation with playing in Europe that led to all the late signings. Napoli needs to recapture the spirit of last year or else they’ll be stuck in mid table for a while.
Posted from
Canada
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