Football Season Guide

It took him some time and plenty of money and dedication but, at last, in the past season President De Laurentiis succeeded bringing Napoli back to the top three of the Serie A and, consequently, to that Champions League (then European Cup) they had only tasted once when Maradona was playing. For sure, coach Mazzarri is also responsible for such a result, thanks to his tactical credo and his strict attitude towards the players. Now, Napoli are expected to repeat themselves and, if possible, to aim for more. After all, at some stage they had been last year Milan's only contenders for the final win. In order to reduce even further the gap from the top teams, De Laurentiis invested plenty more money over the transfer campaign. The midfield was particularly strengthened by the arrival of Inler from Udinese and Dzemaili from Parma, who should replace Pazienza and Yebda. During the past two years, with Mazzarri in charge, Napoli proved some inconsistency: every four or five positive matches, they had to face some kind of a crisis. The newcomers are expected to provide some of that consistency that was missed. A lot will also depend on the attack, though. Up to some point, Cavani did some miracles, having become a real scoring machine, but he suddenly disappeared when the going was getting tough. Napoli hope to have found a valid alternative in Chavez but that is all to be proved. And this could be Napoli's weak point once again: the dependence on Cavani. Lucarelli and Mascara do not seem enough as alternatives. The defence was left untouched and, actually, Britos and Fernandez were added which is certainly good news for the coach.