Three things: Napoli vs. Juventus Posted by Ben Gladwell NAPLES, ITALY -- Three observations from Napolis 2-0 defeat over Juventus at the Stadio San Paolo. 1. Napoli vs. Juventus: Not the best of friends Napoli celebrated one of their sweetest victories in recent years on Sunday night with a 2-0 win over Juventus which was about more than just the three Serie A points at stake. This may not be new to Serie A supporters, but Napoli and Juventus simply do not get on. It did not take the numerous denigrating scarves on sale outside the Stadio San Paolo to drive that home. One man was even selling billboard announcements of the death of Juventus, showing the animosity towards the Old Lady. That hatred -- and the feelings do run so deep -- assumed an even greater significance 19 months ago when the two adversaries met in the 2012/13 seasons curtain-raising Supercoppa. Two red cards, disputes about penalties and Napolis defeat lead to club president Aurelio De Laurentiis ordering his side not even to pick up their runners-up medals. Think of it as the lower leg of Italys boot-shaped form disassociating itself from the thigh. Left out on a limb as it were. It is a rivalry which dates back to before the cities even had football teams, in the early 19th century when the House of Savoy had long since established its home in Turin; Naples were under the rule of a house seen to have raided all of the meridionale riches for its own gain. It is a historic-cultural rivalry which Neapolitans have not forgotten, nor will they ever do so. Each game between the Azzurri and the Bianconeri revives an age-old enmity. It goes back even further than that, according to Juves general manager Beppe Marotta, who said his sides journey to the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday night had been akin to the battle of the Caudine Forks -- part of the Second Samnite War -- a tactical battle in which the Romans were placed between a rock and a hard place without any actual violence. That is precisely where Napoli put Juve on Sunday evening; a place this Juve side, used to having everything their own way all season, were completely unfamiliar with. For perhaps only the second time this season, after the second-half capitulation in their one and only previous Serie A defeat this term at Fiorentina, Juve did not really know what had hit them. Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon ran Martin Caceres and Giorgio Chiellini ragged. Gianluigi Buffon came to Juves rescue at least three times, with the linesmans flag helping too to rule out a Marek Hamsik strike. When Chiellini was forced off the field to change his shirt, and got caught up in a bit of handbags with Rafael Benitez, Napoli exploited Juves weakness to break the deadlock. Chiellini was still finding his way back into position when Insigne sent the ball there quicker than the Italian defender -- not particularly the fastest at the best of times -- could make it, and Callejon finally got the better of Buffon from close range. San Paolo exploded. Faouzi Ghoulam forced a fingertip save out of Buffon in the second half as Napoli went for the jugular. They found it when substitutes Goran Pandev and Dries Mertens combined with the latter placing his shot beyond Buffon to hear his name reverberate around the stadium at least ten times. It was more than mere revenge for a 3-0 defeat in Turin in the reverse fixture, it was victory over lifelong foes. With Fiorentina slipping up again on Sunday, Serie A can practically hit submit on the entries of the three clubs representing Italy in the UEFA Champions League next season following Napolis 2-0 win over Juventus. New entrant Roma take the place of languishing AC Milan while Benitez and Antonio Contes sides return to a competition that both felt they left prematurely this season. Unless theres an unlikely late charge from Fiorentina -- Napolis victory opened up a 12-point gap over fourth-placed Viola -- the Azzurri need not fear too much. And despite Napoli failing to make it to the knockout stage, taking 12 points from a group of death that included Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Marseille was impressive and offers some excitement for next years campaign. With the clubs home support a great 12th man, like on Sunday night, the Azzurri can count on getting at least nine points, if they make the group stage once again. In fact, Roma coach Rudi Garcia may want to eat his words having said he would be rooting for Napoli to beat Juve and keep their title chances alive. With only six points between the Giallorossi in second and Napoli in third, that dreaded playoff berth for the Champions League should be his greater concern and not trying to chase the Bianconeri, even if Napoli showed they can be beaten. But looking ahead to next season, the Serie A should have better results in the Champions League. Juve, hopefully, will have learned their lesson from a painful elimination at the hands of Galatasaray while Roma are voraciously hungry for their return to Europes top competition. Along with Napolis strong showing this year, Serie A will be sending three top teams into battle next year. 3. Assessing Benitezs impact The jury remains out assessing Rafael Benitezs success as Napoli coach, even if he will have won over a few more of his critics on Sunday night. Quick out of the blocks with six wins and a draw from their opening seven matches, the most successful era in the clubs history since Diego Maradona -- that penned by Walter Mazzarri -- was already being forgotten. A slight dip with a 3-0 defeat to Juventus in Turin and elimination from the Champions League saw the emergence of the first detractors, but with seven games of the season to go, the Spaniard seems to have fulfilled the job that was asked of him when he arrived last summer, namely to ensure the Azzurri qualify for the Champions League once again. Given their 2-0 win over Juventus at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday night, though, the question will inevitably be asked whether or not more could have been achieved. One of Mazzarris parting shots was that he had not been granted the same almost blank cheque book Benitez received last summer. The Spaniard did not use even half of the 125-million-euro war chest promised to him by club president Aurelio De Laurentiis, but he spent all of the proceeds from the sale of Edinson Cavani wisely. Very wisely. Gonzalo Higuain, Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens, Pepe Reina and Raul Albiol have become the first five names on the former Liverpool and Chelsea managers teamsheet this season. Winter recruit Jorginho has placed his name on that list too. For one Cavani, the Spaniard signed six pillars. Assimilating them all overnight was always going to be a big ask, however. There is no doubting that the potential is there, though, and Callejons and Mertens 12 and seven goals respectively in support roles this season vouch for that. So while Benitez still may not deliver second spot like his predecessor, the impression is Napoli may just be taking one step backwards to take two forwards. With less radical changes needed in the summer, and a more settled side to start next season with, wins like Sunday nights could be more common, and success may be looming on the horizon for Benitezs Napoli.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 13:14:16 +0000
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