[ITA] Serie A 2013/2014 (39 Viewers)

Tomice

Senior Member
Mar 25, 2009
3,024
Napoli will surely give us a good run for our money even though the title is still ours to lose, I'm a bit impressed as they seem quite fluid so early in the season with a coach like benitez that needs time to shape his teams to fit his very rigid tactical systems

I think pepole underrate Benitez a bit, It's true that he isn't very good as a manager in the english mold as he's squad building skills are lacking but I think he is a very good tactical coach and when paired with a good, dominate GM he can achieve very good results.

I'm a bit anxious to see how he will face us tactics wise, it will be very intriguing and a great indication for our CL campaign imo seeing how well the 3-5-2 can break down a tacticly sound 4-2-3-1 which is Benitez specialty
 

Bianconero_Aus

Beppe Marotta Is My God
May 26, 2009
81,201
However it comes about, starting well is huge for Napoli.

It'll give the new arrivals time to settle in without being put under huge pressure and it'll convince the players who have been there longer that they are able to do well without Cavani.
They've started well in their last two seasons as well - remember they were undefeated and on a winning streak in their opening 7 games last season - until they played us :touched:

But I do get your point that because having a new manager and heaps of new players, that it's important for them to start on the best possible terms.

I'm just still of the opinion that they haven't significantly improved their side compared to last season and their defence is still weak. Lets see when they face tough opposition. Milan (away from home) in 3 weeks time or so should provide more answers for us.
 

Amer

Senior Member
Feb 13, 2005
11,367
However it comes about, starting well is huge for Napoli.

It'll give the new arrivals time to settle in without being put under huge pressure and it'll convince the players who have been there longer that they are able to do well without Cavani.
Yesterday they showed the same drive and hunger we had two years ago, but IMO they made one beginners mistake even before the season strated: they talked about winning Scudetto. Conte was wise in this two years ago, he never talked about it even when we were one point behind Milan or level on points with them. He always used phrases like "we have a long-term project", or " we are still rebuilding the team" and always repeated how Milan are much stronger then us. But he never talked about the Scudetto race. In that way he was relieving the team of the pressure. In the end, it paid off.

IMO this lack of humbleness, along with weak defence and short bench (quality wise), will lead Napoli to another 2nd place finish.
 

Alen

Ѕenior Аdmin
Apr 2, 2007
54,025
Yesterday they showed the same drive and hunger we had two years ago, but IMO they made one beginners mistake even before the season strated: they talked about winning Scudetto. Conte was wise in this two years ago, he never talked about it even when we were one point behind Milan or level on points with them. He always used phrases like "we have a long-term project", or " we are still rebuilding the team" and always repeated how Milan are much stronger then us. But he never talked about the Scudetto race. In that way he was relieving the team of the pressure. In the end, it paid off.

IMO this lack of humbleness, along with weak defence and short bench (quality wise), will lead Napoli to another 2nd place finish.
Two years ago we had the required luck to win that scudetto. It's true that if one looks at our team in 2011/12 and today, he'll realize that 8-9 of the starters are the same players, so no doubt we had a strong team. But we had a lot of catching up to do. Finding the chemistry, adapting to the new tactics etc. We wouldn't have won that scudetto for sure if we had to play in Europe or if Milan didn't have the unluckiest season with their 7-8 injuries per game. But we worked hard and luck was on our side.
Napoli have a strong team, just like Juve back then. Quality wise they are behind us, but they are strong enough to win the scudetto if they have our luck from 11/12. Will they have it, though? They certainly won't have the "1 match per week" we used to have, and, hopefully, their main rival won't have half the starters injured every weekend.
 

ZoSo

Senior Member
Jul 11, 2011
41,656
Yesterday they showed the same drive and hunger we had two years ago, but IMO they made one beginners mistake even before the season strated: they talked about winning Scudetto. Conte was wise in this two years ago, he never talked about it even when we were one point behind Milan or level on points with them. He always used phrases like "we have a long-term project", or " we are still rebuilding the team" and always repeated how Milan are much stronger then us. But he never talked about the Scudetto race. In that way he was relieving the team of the pressure. In the end, it paid off.

IMO this lack of humbleness, along with weak defence and short bench (quality wise), will lead Napoli to another 2nd place finish.
how can he not talk about it since we just won the last two?? what is he supposed to say, 'I am happy if we qualify for CL'???
 

Nicholas

MIRKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jan 30, 2008
38,737
Juve are best equipped to deal with injuries than Milan were, not only that can Napoli cope without two of their star players? I don't think they can. The season is long and they're in Europe, their bench isn't nearly as strong as ours and one or two injuries could bring them crashing down.
 

Nicholas

MIRKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jan 30, 2008
38,737
I don't think they have great depth, who replaces Hamsik, Higuain or Inler?

I think the replacements are very sub par. The only real worthy bench players are Pandev and Insigne.
 

Nzoric

Grazie Mirko
Jan 16, 2011
37,877
Insigne can replace Hamsik, so can Mertens. We do have slightly better depth, but they are more than capable to perform in two tournaments this time around. Will be an exciting season.
 

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