Week 32 of Serie A 2022/23 will be a special treat for SSC Napoli. Against Salernitana at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Sunday (30/4), Napoli can lock up the scudetto if they win and while SS Lazio lose. Even though this Serie A season leaves six more matches. Napoli supporters have also prepared a championship celebration after the last time it was won in the 1989/90 season.
One of them is a coffin and a cross with the logos of the other 2022/23 Serie A clubs. “To the entire Italian team, great pain. After all these years, we place you on a wooden cross,” read the inscription on the diorama of the grave.
Napoli itself is at the top of the Serie A standings this season with a collection of 78 points. On the other hand, Luciano Spalletti, as coach, does not want to rush to celebrate the Serie A title this season. “I don’t like to celebrate first. If we all celebrate together, then there will be double joy,” he said as quoted by Football-Italy.
They are 17 points ahead of Lazio in second place. The club nicknamed the Partenopei has indeed continued to run to the top of the standings as far as the 2022/24 Serie A. Napoli’s slick progress cannot be separated from their different internal roles. Even though their steps in the 2022/23 Champions League had to be stopped in the quarter-finals by AC Milan with an aggregate of 2-1. Previously, Napoli repeatedly failed to win the Scudetto.
In the last 10 years, this proud football club of the City of Naples has ended as runners-up four times. Namely in 2012/13, 2015/16, 2017/18, and 2018/2019. Napoli even sat at the top of the standings for a long time in 2015/16 and 2017/18. But this season it is consistency that is the key to Giovanni Di Lorenzo et al. Following are the factors that have become Napoli’s consistency in Serie A 2022/23.
Left behind by a number of key players, Napoli can actually appear more dangerous with new recruits. Imagine, Spalletti had to lose half of his top players last season. Adam Ounas, Andrea Petagna, Arkadiusz Milik, David Ospina, Dries Mertens, Fabian Ruiz, Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne and others all left Napoli in the summer of 2022.
Instead, the Partenopei brought in Giacomo Raspadori, Giovanni Simeone, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Kim Min-jae, Leo Ostigard, Mathias Olivera and Tanguy Ndombele. The arrival of these players could not be separated from the foresight of Cristiano Giuntoli as the Sporting Director of Napoli. He is an observant person in talent search.
His skill was praised by Carlo Ancelotti, who brought Napoli to runners-up in the 2018/19 Serie A. “I once tested it by giving the name of a defender from the third division of the Turkish League. A few days later, he managed to find out how often the player went to the bathroom in one day,” he was quoted as saying by Corriere dello Sport.
Just look at this season, who knows Kvaratskhelia and Min-Jae? The two players have become the most prominent recruits because they have always been Napoli’s mainstay so far this season. Kvaratskhelia was brought in to fill the left wing post after the death of Insigne who became an icon of Napoli for many years.
Kvaratskhelia became a deadly compatriot on the front lines with Victor Osimhen. Kvaratskhelia scored 12 goals and 10 assists from 27 games for Napoli in Serie A 2022/23. Coupled with two goals and four assists in the 2022/23 Champions League. This player from Georgia is the owner of the highest rating at Napoli this season above Osimhen via the Whoscored site.
In addition to goals and assists, Kvaratskhelia has 2.7 shots on target per game. Other statistics are 1.7 key passes and 2 successful dribbles in each game. That is, he is a solution to Napoli’s attack apart from Osimhen, who has been sharp since last season. Meanwhile, Min-jae, unexpectedly, was able to cover the sadness of the Napoli supporters after the death of Koulibaly.
Without ruling out Amir Rrahmani who has also performed well this season, Min-jae’s arrival continues to improve Napoli’s defense. Because the center back from South Korea is the core player with the third highest rating. The attribute of 1.6 tackles plus 1.2 interceptions per match proves Min-jae’s slick game.
Even Min-jae also scored two goals and two assists in 30 Serie-A 2022/23 matches. For example, the two new players in Napoli’s regular 11 line-up complement the Napoli squad which has been strengthened by Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Alex Meret, Mario Rui, Osimhen, and others.
Meanwhile, recruits other than Kvaratskhelia and Min-jae are another option to be an alternative substitute for player rotation that is no less good. If we examine, Napoli’s squad this season is not much of the players from the top 10 countries of the FIFA ranking.
Apart from the support from the fans, their playing style is often the grave for their opponents at home and away. No one would have thought that Spalletti was one step away from holding the Scudetto this season. Although classified as one of the best coaches from Italy, Spalletti’s achievements are not as bright as Ancelotti’s. The capital of two Russian Premier League titles and two other domestic cups with Zenit St. Petersburg, still felt a lack of prestige.
Especially with two Coppa Italia titles and an Italian Super Cup with AS Roma, it’s too long to be proud of. So this season, actually Napoli is not the favorite to win when compared to AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, even though Rome. But this time Spalletti proved that with the foundations built into the squad and his tactical philosophy.
Spalletti himself has a philosophy of attacking football and a fast game from the wing. The philosophy that has made him steal the attention when training Udinese since 2002 until he was recruited by Roma in 2005. Together with Rome he is also predicted to be the inventor of a false 9 in Italy for a Francesco Totti.
So Spalletti is not really a mediocre coach. He can be called one of the philosophers of Italian football for several tactical and philosophical discoveries. Then with Napoli, Spalletti was able to evolve to become even more varied. The coach who was born on March 7, 1959 did not only rely on the aggressiveness of attacks through the wings as he had before.
Through the 4-3-3 formation, Spalletti instructed his players to build attacks from the back line which became three defenders. Why a back three? Because one of Napoli’s full-backs will move to the center so that the other side will be closer to Rrahmani and Min-Jae. Usually, it is Di Lorenzo who helps the two centre-backs the most.
The flow of three center backs plus one goalkeeper will be assisted by Stanislav Lobotka as a deep-lying playmaker. They (especially Lobotka) will send the ball into the final third of the opponent’s side. Or directly to Osimhen if he gets a gap as the spearhead on the field. When the ball rolls down the flank, it is here that Spalletti’s tactical philosophy remains evident.
That is where the combination on the flanks becomes a lethal weapon for the former Inter Coach. It is this factor that has made Kvaratskhelia stand out so far with Napoli this season. The freedom that the 22-year-old player gets makes his talent come out as much as possible with the Partenopei. The former Dinamo Batumi player also has many options when combined.
Kvaratskhelia was supported by Rui and Piotr Zielinski when they combined fast attacks down the left flank. Kvaratskhelia was also given the freedom to shoot directly at the opponent’s goal or release a pass for Osimhen or Hirving Lozano. Of course, Kvaratskhelia has more freedom than Lozano on the right.
Because Kvaratskhelia recorded 2.7 shots on target per game compared to Lozano, which was only 1.4. Meanwhile Lozano seemed limited by Spalletti by providing passes to Osimhen or Kvaratskhelia. This is evidenced by Lozano’s more frequent crosses than Kvaratskhelia.
If Kvaratskhelia releases 0.4 crosses per match, while Lozano does 0.7 in each game. Thin indeed. However, this is reasonable because Spalletti prioritizes attacks from the left rather than the right.
That is, the aggressiveness of Napoli’s attack is determined by Lobotka. Then it was dumped on Kvaratskhelia and finished by predators like Osimhen. The aggressiveness of Napoli’s attack is also matched by the strength in the midfield and the thickness of the defense.
The trio Anguissa, Zielinski, and Lobotka, are able to support attacks well with high mobility. As a bonus, they have qualified long-range kicks that have helped open Napoli’s goal taps. When defending, they are strong to suppress the opponent’s midfield. Lobotka has an accurate tackle with 2.3 per game so the opponent loses the ball easily.
Meanwhile, Anguissa has good defensive vision of 1.2 interceptions per game. These two statistics are the highest in Napoli. This means that the Partenopei defenders’ task will be easier when defending. Moreover, Spalletti demands fast and precise transitions when defending.
One of the full-backs who is also aggressive when attacking, is required to immediately return to his post when defending. The time for them to return was felt to be sufficient because of the strength of the midfielders when carrying out the defensive actions described earlier.
“Spalletti has achieved an extraordinary balance of play and teamwork. He plays international football effectively and successfully. Because so many try, so many at the wonderful Neapolitan people. Apart from the support from the fans, their playing style is often the grave for their opponents at home and away.
So Spalletti is not really a mediocre coach. He can be called one of the philosophers of Italian football for several tactical and philosophical discoveries. Then with Napoli, Spalletti was able to evolve to become even more varied. The coach who was born on March 7, 1959 did not only rely on the aggressiveness of attacks through the wings as he had before.
Through the 4-3-3 formation, Spalletti instructed his players to build attacks from the back line which became three defenders. Why a back three? Because one of Napoli’s full-backs will move to the center so that the other side will be closer to Rrahmani and Min-Jae. Usually, it is Di Lorenzo who helps the two centre-backs the most.
The flow of three center backs plus one goalkeeper will be assisted by Stanislav Lobotka as a deep-lying playmaker. They (especially Lobotka) will send the ball into the final third of the opponent’s side. Or directly to Osimhen if he gets a gap as the spearhead on the field. When the ball rolls down the flank, it is here that Spalletti’s tactical philosophy remains evident.
That is where the combination on the flanks becomes a lethal weapon for the former Inter Coach. It is this factor that has made Kvaratskhelia stand out so far with Napoli this season. The freedom that the 22-year-old player gets makes his talent come out as much as possible with the Partenopei. The former Dinamo Batumi player also has many options when combined.
Kvaratskhelia was supported by Rui and Piotr Zielinski when they combined fast attacks down the left flank. Kvaratskhelia was also given the freedom to shoot directly at the opponent’s goal or release a pass for Osimhen or Hirving Lozano. Of course, Kvaratskhelia has more freedom than Lozano on the right.
Because Kvaratskhelia recorded 2.7 shots on target per game compared to Lozano, which was only 1.4. Meanwhile Lozano seemed limited by Spalletti by providing passes to Osimhen or Kvaratskhelia. This is evidenced by Lozano’s more frequent crosses than Kvaratskhelia.
If Kvaratskhelia releases 0.4 crosses per match, while Lozano does 0.7 in each game. Thin indeed. However, this is reasonable because Spalletti prioritizes attacks from the left rather than the right.
That is, the aggressiveness of Napoli’s attack is determined by Lobotka. Then it was dumped on Kvaratskhelia and finished by predators like Osimhen. The aggressiveness of Napoli’s attack is also matched by the strength in the midfield and the thickness of the defense.
The trio Anguissa, Zielinski, and Lobotka, are able to support attacks well with high mobility. As a bonus, they have qualified long-range kicks that have helped open Napoli’s goal taps. When defending, they are strong to suppress the opponent’s midfield. Lobotka has an accurate tackle with 2.3 per game so the opponent loses the ball easily.
“Spalletti has achieved an extraordinary balance of play and teamwork. He plays international football effectively and successfully. Because so many try, so many
successful edit. He has achieved something that was not even believed at first,” said Fabio Cannavaro.
Of course, this is what makes Alex Meret, from the reserve goalkeeper, very confident in becoming the main goalkeeper. As a result, Napoli is the club that has conceded the fewest goals and scored the most goals. So far, the Partenopei have scored 67 goals and conceded 21 times.
On the other hand, Napoli is smart to see the situation that is happening in Serie A 2022/23. Because there have been several changes in the cycle of its competitors in Serie A this season. Starting from Milan, whose concentration was divided in two by looking at the Champions League.
Apparently, Milan’s squad is not deep enough to focus on two or even three competitions at once. So they were quite at a loss to retain the Scudetto title they won last season. This situation is similar to Rome who is confident after winning the 2021/22 European Confederation Cup.
This title makes Roma confident of winning the 2022/23 Europa League title. However, their squad is not that deep, so the players are injured more and left some of their mainstays. It’s a different story with Inter Milan who are still looking for a consistent form of play with Simone Inzaghi.
The Inter players seem to be still adapting after the departure of Antonio Conte and the relay to Inzaghi. This situation is similar to Juventus trying to win again with Massimiliano Allegri. In fact, they had to fall over the ladder due to the plus valenza scandal that had been received.
It is the limping of these rivals that Napoli can take advantage of. Namely by using Spalletti’s tactics to be consistent. Because when it comes to disassembling players, not many football teams can be consistent or have a better game after the clearance.
The Napoli squad is actually not that deep. Even the rotation was the same, namely the inclusion of Elif Elmas, Simeone, Raspadori, and Ndombele. Lately there may be Oliviera who has become Rui’s rotation who is often out of shape.
Spalletti even had a headache when Osimhen, Simeone and Raspadori were injured at the same time. But again, Napoli are lucky to have Kvaratskhelia, who seems quite skilled when it comes to being an emergency centre-forward.
In that position, the player with the back number 77 managed to score one goal when he was plotted twice to become a center forward. The squad that is not too deep and this difference in focus makes Napoli have no problem being eliminated from the Champions League.
After all, advancing to the quarter-finals of the Champions League is history that Napoli has never carved before. Spalletti is aware that the opportunity to win the Scudetto may not come for the umpteenth time if you see the dominance of northern Italian clubs.
Moreover, the 33-year wait of the people of Naples for the scudetto is more missed and possible than the long ear that can be grasped in the following seasons. The Serie-A title is proof that this city from the Southern Italian region which is often exiled is able to silence the bourgeoisie in the northern region who are still trying to restore their respective glory.
ASL
