Death, taxes and a Luciano Spalletti side starting a season with a bang. Napoli tifosi around the world have been thrilled by the attacking and confident start that i partenopei have made to the 2022/23 campaign. This enthusiasm, however, is coloured by many with a fear for the inevitable dip that usually comes later in the campaign for a Spalletti side.
Fans will not need reminding that after only losing once in the first fifteen games of last season, Napoli lost at home to Atalanta, Empoli and Spezia in a December from hell. Despite an impressive recovery, considering the hole in the squad that the Africa Cup of Nations left, Spalletti’s men looked drained of energy and ideas in April, dropping points to Fiorentina, Roma and the infamous meltdown against Empoli.
This year, however, there is hope for even the most cynical of Napoli fan, and it lies in an unusual place: international football. The bizarre decision to award Qatar the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup has hugely disrupted European club football calendars. Serie A shuts up shop on the13th of November and does not continue for nearly two months – returning on the 4th of January.
Cristiano Giuntoli’s smart mercato, bringing in players from a genuine mix of global areas, as well as Italy’s failure to qualify for the tournament mean that Napoli’s squad contains very few players who are likely to feature in the latter stages of the global showcase. Only André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon), Min-Jae Kim (South Korea), Hirving Lozano (Mexico) and Piotr Zielinski (Poland) are likely to feature. The four countries they represent are not likely to progress into the latter stages of the tournament, too.
This leaves Spalletti with the tantalising prospect of an extended period to sculpt his squad, already vastly reshaped into a roster more suited to his style, in November and December. The recent Juve Stabia friendly showcased an alternative 4-2-3-1 formation to the successful 4-3-3 of the first two games of the season – perhaps even more tactical flexibility could be explored during the World Cup break? Moreover, the high turnaround of the mercato leaves Napoli with many players who are new to the city and the club. This period early in the season will greatly assist with acclimatisation.
Whilst Napoli’s key players will be working closely with their teammates and coaching staff, Inter’s Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) and Lautaro Martinez (Argentina) and Milan’s Rafael Leão (Portugal), Mike Maignan (France), Alexis Saelemaekers (Belgium) and Charles De Ketelaere will all be tied up with two of the favourites to lift the trophy in Qatar. The intensity of a World Cup is unrivalled in football and with the extremely challenging conditions, even in winter, that Qatar will throw up, it is likely these players will return fatigued and in need of a rest.
Whether through design or accident, Napoli could not have chosen a better season to introduce a squad reset. Even if results drop off as Napoli face bigger clubs over the coming weeks, the backing that Spalletti has received should produce dividends come the trickier final third of the season. The disastrous December and April of 2021/22 could soon become a distant memory come the end of this campaign – with the added bonus of the biggest cup competition in the game to enjoy without fear of losing many Napoli players to injury beforehand.
