SSC Napoli

On Sunday, Napoli conceded a 96th-minute equalizer to Cagliari, falling further behind in the race for Champions League qualification. The 1-1 draw against the club currently sitting second from the bottom of the table marked the fifth occasion this season that the Azzurri have dropped points to clubs in the bottom half of the table. Consistent with recent performances under Walter Mazzarri, the visitors struggled to create quality chances, generating an xG of only 1.1.  However, there were some positive signs that Napoli are finally heading in the right direction under Francesco Calzona, who made his league debut on the…

After Saturday’s draw to Genoa at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, rumours have begun to swirl about the possible dismissal of supposed caretaker coach Walter Mazzarri. Mazzarri returned to Napoli after a Matchday 12 defeat to Empoli that left the reigning champions fourth in the table, 10 points behind league leaders Inter.  In his 12 league matches in charge, Napoli have managed only four wins and three draws, tumbling to ninth in the table. It’s long been a foregone conclusion that Napoli will not retain the Scudetto - the gap to the top has become a 27-point chasm. Worse yet, even…

“Everything that has happened until now is my sole responsibility,” said Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, addressing the media after his club’s scoreless draw to Monza. “Therefore, none of the blame must lie on the players or the coaches, but they are my faults for which I assume full responsibility. And therefore, for this very reason, I must somehow apologize to Neapolitans and especially to all Napoli fans if we are where we are in the standings. But, I think the season is long and therefore we will use the transfer market to make up for lost time.”Napoli have since…

On the 29th of December, Nikita Contini made his Serie A debut, replacing Alex Meret in the second half of Napoli’s scoreless draw against Monza.  Meret was forced to exit the match with a hamstring injury, while Napoli’s usual Number 2, Pierluigi Gollini, was kept out of the squad after suffering an ankle injury in the pre-match warm-up. It was a long-time coming for the SSC Napoli veteran. Nikita Baranovsky Contini was born in Cherkasy, Ukraine to a Ukrainian mother and Neopolitan father.  At the age of three, Contini and his family moved to Giugliano in Campania - the same…

With a scoreless draw to Monza on Friday, Napoli sit 8th in the Serie A table, 19 points adrift of their point total at this stage last season. Per Opta, it’s the Parternopei’s third-worst start to a season since returning to the top flight, after the 2007/08 and 2019/20 campaigns, when they earned 23 and 24 points, respectively.It is a dark period for Napoli, appearing even bleaker on the back of one of the greatest seasons in club history. Walter Mazzarri has done little to clean up the mess created by his predecessor, with only three victories in eight matches…

On Tuesday, Napoli bowed out of the Coppa Italia in the Round of 16 for the third consecutive season, losing 0-4 to Frosinone. It was Napoli’s worst home result in the tournament in 65 years (1958), when gli Azzurri suffered a 0-4 defeat to Lazio.With six home defeats already this season, the club (and its president), the coach and the players must all be held to account. No one knows whether Luciano Spalletti would have fulfilled his contract with Napoli had Aurelio De Laurentiis offered the Tuscan a pay increase. According to Spalletti, “sometimes, you part ways due to too…

With Union Berlin managing an away draw against 10-man Braga, Napoli needed at least a point against Real Madrid on Wednesday to guarantee a place in the Knockout Stage of the UEFA Champions League. Even in the absence of a number of Galácticos - Thibaut Courtois, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Éder Militão, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior were all injured - a positive result at the Stadio Bernabéu was always going to be a difficult proposition.Yet, Napoli came within seven minutes (plus stoppage time) of doing just that. 19-year-old Nico Paz, who entered the match after Real Madrid…

October 7, 2023: the last time Union Berlin scored a goal.  August 26, 2023: the last time Union Berlin earned a point. On the face of it, Napoli’s 1-1 draw at the Maradona on Wednesday - already the fifth home match in which the Partenopei dropped points this season - was a terrible result. However, it wasn’t a terrible performance, at least on two-thirds of the pitch.   Napoli dictated the play, controlled the tempo, built up well using the entirety of the pitch and generated opportunities to score, but they struggled to find the back of the goal. Of their…

On Saturday, Napoli traveled to a half-empty Stadio Arechi and secured three important points with a 2-0 victory over Salernitana.  The opening quarter of the match might have been the Partenopei’s most positive period all season. The visitors put together some brilliant passages of play, where the triangles of Sarri and Spalletti finally returned.That period included Giacomo Raspadori’s third of the campaign, scored in the 13th minute. The goal was generated by Napoli pressing high and winning possession in the final third - another nostalgic throw-back to seasons-past. Per English World Feed commentator Simon Harding, it was the first time…