Check out Football Italia‘s preview of Napoli ahead of their Champions League Round of 16 tie with Barcelona.
The Current Situation
Napoli have been struggling for the whole season but it feels like they have truly hit rock bottom now. President Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed the hiring of Francesco Calzona on Monday evening, barely 24 hours before the kick-off of the Barcelona game. The 55-year-old is a familiar face at the club having already been the assistant to Maurizio Sarri and Luciano Spalletti, but only trained the team once before Wednesday’s meeting at the Stadio Maradona. Calzona has kept his role as the Slovakia national team coach and has become Napoli’s third manager this season, their fourth in nine months considering that Spalletti left the Partenopei last summer. Napoli started the 2023-24 Champions League campaign with Rudi Garcia in charge. Walter Mazzarri was at the Stadio Maradona when the Round of 16 draw took place in December and Calzona will be in charge in the first knock-out phase game. Rollercoasters.
What to expect from the drawing board – Francesco Calzona
As already mentioned, Calzona already knows the club and many first-team players, having already worked with them in the past. It remains to be seen if he’ll be able to have an immediate impact, as De Laurentiis hopes, but he will surely follow a clear tactical strategy. Mazzarri used to alternate 3-4-3, 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 systems and as a result, his Napoli side didn’t have a well-defined identity. On the contrary, Calzona will surely use a 4-3-3 line-up, which Sarri and Spalletti used when he previously worked with them at the club. On paper, Calzona is a fan of ball possession and high pressing, but Napoli players have not been accustomed to it this season, so it remains to be seen if they’ll be able to “press the reset button” and show the same attitude they had last season when they won the first Serie A title in 33 years.
Players that might catch your eye
Victor Osimhen will play his first game since December. The Nigeria international returned to Naples last week after reaching the AFCON Final with the Nigeria national team. He’s not fully fit yet, so the biggest threat to Barcelona’s defence will likely be his teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian ace hasn’t been as effective as last season and hasn’t yet scored in the Champions League this season. However, his attitude has been exceptional, especially in the last few games. In Saturday’s home draw against Genoa, Kvara was among the best players on the pitch and continued pushing for the equaliser even when many of his teammates seemed exhausted. He has the quality to win one-to-one duels down the left flank and create numerical advantage. He’s the one to watch for Napoli on Wednesday.
A stat to keep in mind
Napoli have had three coaches in 2023-24 so it’s pretty clear that players also have part of the responsibility for this season’s terrible results. Napoli currently sit 27 points away from Serie A leaders Inter. Only five times previously has a reigning Serie A champion finished the following season with a 20-point gap between them and the league leaders.
