[FM11] Following in the footsteps of Maradona

[Northwood_dk]

Following in the footsteps of Maradona

A FM11 dynasty

FM Version:

-FM 11, with 11.2.1 patch

Database:

-Large

Leagues Loaded:

- Italy

- Spain

- France

- Holland

- England

- Denmark

- Sweden

- Brazil

- Argentina

After reading this great introduction of S.S.C Napoli by JimmyWangYang in the Team Guide forum I decided to give it a try and start my own Napoli career. I don’t think I have ever tried managing in the Italians Seria A before or posted a dynasty report here at the Sigames forums before so this will be a first.

The career is played on the 11.2.1 patch with most of the major European leagues and Argentina and Brazil in a large database.

To keep things moving I will try to keep it down to one post pr game month and then add some more information each offseason. As this is my first try at a dynasty I will keep it simple so no special houserules or other restrictions to start out.

Feel free to ask questions about Napoli or other teams/players in this FM11 universe as the story starts moving forward.

Enjoy

[Northwood_dk]

2010/11 Roster

Just a short presentation of the roster.

GK Gennaro Iezzo

GK Morgan De Sanctis

GK Matteo Gianello

DF Gianluca Grava

DF Andrea Dossena

DF Fabiano Santacroce

DF Camilo Zungia

DF Hugo Campagnaro

DF Emílson Cribari

DF Paolo Cannavaro

MF Luigi Vitale

MF Michele Pazienza

MF Christian Maggio

MF Marek Hamšík

MF Hassan Yebda (on loan from Benfica)

MF Walter Gargano

MF José Ernesto Sosa

MF Manuele Blasi

FW Edinson Cavani

FW Ezequiel Lavezzi

FW Cristiano Lucarelli (on loan from Parma)

Expected starting 11 in bold

Key players:

Defends: 33 year old keeper Morgan De Sanctis is in his prime age for a keeper and is excellent when one on one with the opponent, Paolo Cannavaro and Campagnaro provides the experience in the middle of the defends.

Midfield: The just 23 years old midfielder from Slovakia Marek Hamšík looks to be one of the bight stars of the future in European football. He will be the creator with some interesting names in José Ernesto Sosa and Manuele Blasi operating on the sidelines.

Attack: Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi might not be that well known by the average football fan but they got the potential shine bright in Seria A this season.

[Northwood_dk]

July 2010

The new manager decided to us the pre-season matches to get a feel for the different players on the roster and at the same time try to find a formation. Most experts recommended a 3-back-line with Walter Gargano playing deep as a 4th defender. Up front it’s all a question about getting Marek Hamšík and Edinson Cavani as much involved as possible.

On the transfer marked the new manager went against the grain and looked at Scandinavian players instead of adding more South Americans. Added to the roster were Markus Henriksen from Rosenborg and Emil Larsen from Lyngby,

M/AM © Markus Henriksen

The just 18-year old midfielder was bought from Norwegian Rosenborg for £2.5 mil. Despite his young age he started 17 games for the Norwegians champions last season. He got the technique and creativity to become a very good player when he learns to position himself better on the field.

M/AM (RLC) Emil Larsen

Another midfielder was brought inn from he Danish top division club Lyngby. As an 18 year old he

scored 11 goals in 27 games in the second best Danish division. He might not have the same upside as Markus Henriksen but his skills with the ball and his natural flair makes him a hot prospect. Napoli paid the Danish club £750K for the young player.

Friendly games:

Napoli 0 – 0 Napoli Reserves

Napoli 4 – 1 LASK Linz

Salamanca 0 – 0 Napoli

[o JaY]

Good luck, I've never managed in Italy but I'd like to. What are the rules on foreigners in squads and how many foreign signings?

[Raware]

Good luck with Napoli . I have a real soft spot for Partenopei since the days of watching Maradona play for them. I actually had a great save with them on FM06 too when they were relegated to Serie C1. I hope yours is just as enjoyable.

[GylfiAsCharged]

I managed Napoli last year in CM2010, had 5 seasons and a lot of fun with them. Good luck!

[Northwood_dk]

Good luck, I've never managed in Italy but I'd like to. What are the rules on foreigners in squads and how many foreign signings?

Thanks o Jay,

It’s also my first time in Italy.

I don’t think there are any restrictions on foreigners in squads but I’m only allowed to sign one non-EU player from abroad each season.

[Northwood_dk]

Good luck with Napoli . I have a real soft spot for Partenopei since the days of watching Maradona play for them. I actually had a great save with them on FM06 too when they were relegated to Serie C1. I hope yours is just as enjoyable.

Thanks Raware,

I’m having a great time this fare (almost done with the first season)

[Northwood_dk]

I managed Napoli last year in CM2010, had 5 seasons and a lot of fun with them. Good luck!

Thanks offen94.

It’s a great group of players to play with.

[Northwood_dk]

August 2010

Friendly games:

Ternana 0 – 1 Napoli

Huesca 1 – 0 Napoli

Còrdoba 2 -2 Napoli

Not a very impressive showing by the Napoli team in the pre season games.

In a somewhat surprising deal Napoli also went out and spent £5.25mil on young defender Fernando Tobio from Vèlez. He is expected to fill the gap that will be in the central defends if/when Hugo Campagnaro and/or Paolo Cannavaro is sold in the future.

19/08/10 UEFA Europa League qualifier, 1st leg

1 APOEL

2 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (66)

Ezequiel Lavezzi (68)

After a horrible start where APOEL scores already after two minutes and Walter Gargano is sent off just after the half, Napoli struggles back and gets the all important road win.

26/08/10 UEFA Europa League qualifier, 2nd leg

3 SSC Napoli

0 APOEL

Ezequiel Lavezzi (2)

Paolo Cannavaro (19)

Edinson Cavani (71)

The return leg was a walk in the park for Napoli and the game was over after just 20 minutes. All three new players on the Napoli roster got playing time in the last game before the real season opener.

Napoli was drawn in to group G in the UEFA Europa league and will play Sheriff (Moldova), Club Brugge (Belgium) and PSV (Holland) in the group stage. PSV and Napoli looks like the early favorites to qualify from the group.

29/08/10 Serie A

3 SSC Napoli

2 AC Milan

Ezequiel Lavezzi (23, 88)

Edinson Cavani (56)

Napoli gets the season off to a fantastic start with a big home win over championship contender AC Milan. Most of the Milan stars struggles to play up to normal standard and the 55.000 in the stadium are pleased with the 3 first points of the season.

[Northwood_dk]

September 2010

12/09/10 Serie A

1 AS Bari

1 SSC Napoli

Cristiano Lucarelli (71)

After the great result in the opening match of the season Napoli was sent back down to earth after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Bari. With just 4 minutes remaining on the clock Napoli allowed a Bari teams playing 4-2-4 and easy goal to draw back to level and “steal” the victory away from Napoli.

16/09/10 UEFA Europa League

0 Sheriff

3 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (60)

Paolo Cannavaro (83)

Ezequiel Lavezzi (88)

It took some time for Napoli to open up the Sheriff defends. Cavani finally did it after one hour of play on a perfect deep ball from Lavezzi and after that the result was never in doubt.

19/09/10 Serie A

2 SSC Napoli

0 US Lecce

Own goal (6)

Ezequiel Lavezzi (47)

In the 3rd game in just 7 days Napoli goy off to a good start on a Lecce own goal after just 6 minutes. The second goal came just after halftime on a perfectly Napoli attack finished off by Ezequiel Lavezzi.

22/09/10 Serie A

4 Parma FC

3 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (10)

Paolo Cannavaro (83)

Ezequiel Lavezzi (65)

The tough schedule for Napoli continues. 35-year old Hernàn Crespo show a glimpse of old class when he scores a hattrick. With the last of his goals being in the final minute of the game and that was more then what Napoli managed to overcome and they record there first loss of the regular season.

26/09/10 Serie A

1 SSC Napoli

1 US Città di Palermo

Cristiano Lucarelli (33 P)

Young defender Fernando Tobio had a nightmare day today. He started out making an own goal after just 2 minutes of play and then proceeded to get a direct red card in the second half. Still Napoli managed to get away from the game with a point mostly because of great play by Morgan De Sanctis in goal and a cheep penalty given to Christian Maggio.

30/09/10 UEFA Europa League

1 SSC Napoli

1 PSV

Marek Hamšík (72)

Marek Hamšík finally got his name on the scoresheed for Napoli in the draw with Dutch PSV. It was a close game between two equal teams.

[Northwood_dk]

October 2010

03/10/10 Serie A

0 Udinese Calcio

0 SSC Napoli

For the 3rd game in a row Napoli plays to a draw. The team is getting a problem with yellow cards. In the last three games alone the team have picked up 13 yellow cards and a red and several players is facing suspensions.

17/10/10 Serie A

1 SSC Napoli

1 Calcio Catania

Edinson Cavani (67)

Cavani made his own copy of a great Maradona goal today when he got the ball at midfield and then on his own out ran/dribbled the Catania defends for the equalizer. Still the overall result was a disappointment for the 34.000 Napoli fans.

21/10/10 UEFA Europa League

1 Club Brugge

2 SSC Napoli

Marek Hamšík (23 P)

Fabiano Santacroce (41)

Napoli gets an all important road win in the UEFA Europa League. Fabiano Santacroce scored his first goal of the season after a corner and Hamšík scored on the penalty that was given to Emil Larsen under huge protests from the Brugge team.

24/10/10 Serie A

0 S.S. Lazio

2 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (19, 69)

Napoli rested Hamšík after the UEFA Europa League game just a few days ago but with Cavani on the team that didn’t matter much. Cavani got three chances and came away with two goals and a penalty. José Ernesto Sosa missed the penalty kick.

30/10/10 Serie A

3 SSC Napoli

3 UC Sampdoria

Marek Hamšík (4)

Edinson Cavani (24)

Cristiano Lucarelli (82)

It was a fun game to watch but Napoli would properly have hoped for another result when scoring three at home. Cavani is in a rarer form at the moment and it looks like he can score whenever he wants to.

[o JaY]

Good to see the results have started to pick up, and you're looking good in Europe. What position are you in Serie A and the Europa League group?

[Northwood_dk]

Good to see the results have started to pick up, and you're looking good in Europe. What position are you in Serie A and the Europa League group?

We are looking good in Europe. On top of the group tied on points with PSV.

In the league we are struggling a bit more. After October we are in 11th place but there is a huge group of 8-9 teams still very close together.

Will try to post a screenshot of the league standing after each month (starting from mars 2011).

[Northwood_dk]

November 2010

04/11/10 UEFA Europa League

2 SSC Napoli

0 Club Brugge

Ezequiel Lavezzi (17 P, 45+2 )

Napoli takes a chance and rest both Cavani and Hamšík for the game against league leader Inter later in the week. While Club Brugge hits the woodwork twice Ezequiel Lavezzi is deadly accurate and scores both goals for Napoli in the first half.

07/11/10 Serie A

0 FC Internazionale Milano

0 SSC Napoli

In a hard fought match (11 yellow cards) Inter takes 21 shots to Napoli’s just seven but a brilliant performance by goalie Morgan De Sanctis saves Napoli the one point.

10/11/10 Serie A

1 SSC Napoli

1 Brescia Calcio

Ezequiel Lavezzi (43)

Napoli has to fight from behind after Brescia scores the go-ahead goal on a corner already after 4 minutes of play. It’s once again Ezequiel Lavezzi who is the savior with his goal after 43 minutes. In the second half Lavezzi manage to pick up two yellow cards in just 4 minutes and Napoli have to finish the game with just 10 men.

13/11/10 Serie A

3 AC Chievo Verona

0 SSC Napoli

A new low point in the season as Napoli losses to Chievo in embarrassing fashion. The first goal comes after a mix-up between Morgan De Sanctis and Fernando Tobio. After that it goes from bad to worse when Paolo Cannavaro is shown a direct red card.

After the game Fernando Tobio who has struggled after joining the team pay the price as he is sent to the reserve team after some less then impressive performances.

20/11/10 Serie A

0 SSC Napoli

0 ACF Fiorentina

The streak without a win goes to 4 and the fans starts to worry. Its only Morgan De Sanctis saving Napoli from another defeat at home and the team have only scored a single goal in the last 4 games.

28/11/10 Serie A

0 Cesena

3 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (11,64)

Marek Hamšík (23)

Napoli finally went away from the 3-man defensive line and the result was eminent against a weak (last place in the league) opponent.

The 3-man defends gave up way to many goals from open crosses. Instead Napoli have decided to give the 4-2-3-1 Asymmetric a try. I should stabilize the defends but it will also leave either Lavezzi or Cavani on the bench.

[Northwood_dk]

December 2010

02/12/10 UEFA Europa League

2 SSC Napoli

0 Sheriff

Ezequiel Lavezzi (74)

Cristiano Lucarelli (93)

With the advancement to the next round already secured some of the players with little playing time in the regular lineup get a chance in this match. Still Napoli is in complete control even if they have to wait late to late in the second half for the goals.

05/12/10 Serie A

0 SSC Napoli

1 Bologna FC

Another huge setback.

With both Cavani and Hamšík back in the starting lineup Napoli once again completely dominates the game. But this time they struggle to score despite the advantage in ball control. Instead Bologna claims the win on a contra in the 85th minute on there just second shot on goal all game.

12/12/10 Serie A

2 Juventus

0 SSC Napoli

Napoli played a good game but again came away with 0 points. Juventus scored an early goal and controlled the game. The second goal came in the end of the game when Napoli threw it all forward to get the equalizer. Napoli now finds themselves in 11th place but already 13 points behind league leader Inter.

16/12/10 UEFA Europa League

0 PSV

2 SSC Napoli

Paolo Cannavaro (75)

Ezequiel Lavezzi (92)

With both teams already qualified for the next round the two teams did not show much tonight. Napoli played defensively and was pleased to keep the ball within the team. Paolo Cannavaro scored his just 3rd goal of the season after a corner and Ezequiel Lavezzi scored the second of the game late in extra time. That was Lavezzis 7th goal in the Euro Cup in just 5 games.

In the draw for the first knockout round Napoli gets FC Schalke 04 from Germany.

19/12/10 Serie A

1 Cagliari Calcio

1 SSC Napoli

Christian Maggio (76)

Just three days after the Euro League win over PSV Napoli again struggled in the league. They could not hold on after Maggio gave them a late lead-goal and allowed Cagliari the late (89) equalizer.

[Chuffa]

Really good read so far, a shame you've had some disappointing results, but hopefully you'll grow stronger as the season goes on. It seems you are doing well in the Europa League though, well done.

Oh and I've just started playing Napoli myself, and have found that Lucarelli is awesome from the bench late on. He's my super sub.

[o JaY]

You're looking good in Europe. Do you keep the same tactic for Serie A games and European matches? Where are you in the league now?

[Northwood_dk]

Really good read so far, a shame you've had some disappointing results, but hopefully you'll grow stronger as the season goes on. It seems you are doing well in the Europa League though, well done.

Oh and I've just started playing Napoli myself, and have found that Lucarelli is awesome from the bench late on. He's my super sub.

Thanks for reading Chuffa.

I’m pleased about our progress in Europa but the inconsistency in the league is driving my nuts.

I agree that Lucarelli is great coming inn from the bench late, I’m just afraid he will start complaining about playing time soon.

[Northwood_dk]

You're looking good in Europe. Do you keep the same tactic for Serie A games and European matches? Where are you in the league now?

I started out with 4 different formations.

2 different home formations both with 2 strikers but one for weak teams and one for the strong opponents. And two similar for road games with just one striker.

I have gone away from that concept and instead play every game out of the 4-2-3-1 Asymmetric formation and instead change the tactic depending on the team we play and if we are home or away. Play attacking or control at home depending on the opponent and counter or control on the road.

We are still around midtable in the end of December but just 4 points out of 3rd place. The problem is that Inter and Roma is running away on the top of the table.

[Northwood_dk]

January 2011

06/01/11 Serie A

2 SSC Napoli

1 AS Roma

Marek Hamšík (37, 65)

In the first game without Hugo Campagnaro who was sold to Hèrcules for £3.7mil when the transfer window opened after New Year, Napoli played the #2 team in the league AS Roma.

That leaves Napoli with a 4-backline of Camilo Zungia, Fabiano Santacroce, Paolo Cannavaro and Gianluca Grava. Marek Hamšík had a great day scoring twice and despite a hard Roma pressure in the last 10 minutes the team held on and came away with a much needed win.

12/01/11 Italian Cup, Round 1

1 SSC Napoli

0 Calcio Catania

Marek Hamšík (77)

In the first round of the Italian Cup Napoli get back to back wins after another late Hamšík goal. The win came with a price as both Emil Larsen (4 weeks twisted ankle) and Ezequiel Lavezzi (3 weeks knee) was lost with injuries.

16/01/11 Serie A

4 AC Milan

5 SSC Napoli

José Ernesto Sosa (4, 33)

Luigi Vitale (18)

Edinson Cavani (41)

Paolo Cannavaro (67)

In a game that saw 9 goals and 2 red cards Napoli comes away with one of the biggest win of the season. Still the fans must be slightly concerned that while being up by two men for much of the game AC Milan still made it close in the end.

19/01/11 Serie A

2 Genoa CFC

3 SSC Napoli

Christian Maggio (19)

José Ernesto Sosa (37)

Marek Hamšík (56)

Napoli continues there longest winning streak (4) of the season with a win over Genoa. With the new formation it looks like the team has finally started to score goals on a regular basis. Only problem is that the defends is still struggling to keep tight,

23/01/11 Serie A

2 SSC Napoli

0 AS Bari

Luigi Vitale (1)

Paolo Cannavaro (30)

A confident Napoli team had no problems with an uninspired Bari team today. When Vitale scored already in the first minute Napoli could easily control the game and Bari ended the game without creating a real goal chance.

Just a few days before the transfer window closes again Napoli added a new player to the roster. The player is 20 year old attacker Mads Stokkelien from Norway. The player comes from Start in the Norwegian top division where he scored 24 goals in 29 starts last season. Napoli had to pay £875K to secure the young prospect. With Lavezzi still injured he might get a place in the team traveling to play Inter this week.

26/01/11 Italian Cup, Qtr final

1 FC Internazionale Milano

0 SSC Napoli

Napoli decided to rest many of the regular starters and that gave Inter an easy game. Napoli did have a controversial penalty not called but didn’t produce much else. The game had 10 yellow cards and also gave debut to Mads Stokkelien in the second half.

Napoli decided to add a last and final player to the roster before end of the transfer window. The last man in was 27-year old Argentinean Emmanuel Culio. The M (L,C) / AM © have played in Romania for the last 4 seasons before joining Napoli for a fee of £1,2mil.

29/01/11 Serie A

2 US Lecce

4 SSC Napoli

Own goal (22)

José Ernesto Sosa (34 P)

Marek Hamšík (45+2 P)

Edinson Cavani (46)

Napoli picked up another easy win over the worst team in the league. A little more then halfway thru the season they now find themselves on 7th place but equal on points with the team in 3rd place Juventus. Inter at this point looks like the hot favorite to take home the title for the 5th time in a row.

[o JaY]

Good to see that you're grinding out good wins in the league and level on points with 3rd place. Hopefully you can maintain this good form

[Northwood_dk]

Good to see that you're grinding out good wins in the league and level on points with 3rd place. Hopefully you can maintain this good form

Thanks

Grinding is the key-word.

With the league title looking to be out of reach, I properly made a mistake not going harder for the cup.

At this point my main goal is to qualify for the Champions league next season (top-4) and the Euro League.

[Northwood_dk]

February 2011

02/02/11 Serie A

4 SSC Napoli

0 Parma FC

Christian Maggio (11, 69)

Gianluca Grava (41)

Cristiano Lucarelli (77)

Last time the two teams played Hernàn Crespo beat Napoli on his own with a hat trick but Napoli was not going to let that happen again this time. It was Napoli all over the game and in one of the best performances of the season they created nine clear chances to Parma’s zero.

06/02/11 Serie A

0 SSC Napoli

0 Udinese Calcio

After scoring 4 goals just a few days ago Napoli struggled in front of goal today. Hamšík had an off-day and nobody else stepped up and took responsibility. Emmanuel Culio got his debut in today’s game when he replaced Hamšík in the second half.

In a stunning performance surprise team Chievo beat league leaders Inter 6-0 !!

13/02/11 Serie A

0 US Città di Palermo

1 SSC Napoli

Christian Maggio (84)

José Ernesto Sosa gets the chance as the playmaker in game against Palermo where Marek Hamšík must sit out due to a yellow card suspension. He has a good game but its still Christian Maggio who steals the headlines with his later winning goal.

Morgan De Sanctis have now played three games without allowing a goal.

17/02/11 UEFA Europa League

3 Schalke 04

2 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (2,10)

Hamšík and Cavani gives Napoli the best possible start to the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League when they combine there way thru the Schalke defends twice in the first 10 minutes of play. But after that it was all Schalke and two goals by Huntelar and a 93 minute winner by Ciprian Deac gives Napoli something to think about before the return leg.

20/02/1| Serie A

1 Calcio Catania

4 SSC Napoli

Christian Maggio (5)

Paolo Cannavaro (28)

Manuele Blasi (44)

Mads Stokkelien (56)

Napoli picks up a solid win on the road in a game where the entire team played good football and was deadly accurate in front of goal. The team had four shots on goal and all four went inn. The last goal of the match was scored by Mads Stokkelien who got his first ever goal for Napoli.

24/02/11 UEFA Europa League

2 SSC Napoli

1 Schalke 04

Christian Maggio (25)

Manuele Blasi (37)

It started out bad for Napoli when Huntelaar scored after just 15 minutes. But already before the half Napoli was back in control after great goals by Maggio and Blasi. In the second half it was Napoli playing the control game but against Huntelaar and Raul that’s a dangerous game. Schalke had several good chances but even with 4 minutes of extra time the Napoli defends held and the team squeezed thru to the second knockout round on away goals.

The opponent for Napoli in the second round will be Spanish Villarreal who beat Werder Bremen in the first round.

27/02/11 Serie A

1 SSC Napoli

1 S.S. Lazio

Ezequiel Lavezzi (31)

With the 3rd game in seven days for Napoli the team shows traces of fatigue and also struggles with suspensions. That forces the team to make some hard choices in a huge game. Therefore it was positive to see newcomer Culio coming away with Man of the match. In the end Napoli will be satisfied coming away with a draw in this game.

The draw leaves Napoli 10 points behind league leader Inter with 11 games remaining.

[Chuffa]

You seem to have picked up in the league, nice one dude.

[Northwood_dk]

You seem to have picked up in the league, nice one dude.

Thanks Chuffa.

Slowly getting there even if the title dreams are over for this year.

[Northwood_dk]

Mars 2011

05/03/11 Serie A

1 UC Sampdoria

1 SSC Napoli

Emmanuel Culio (63)

Emmanuel Culio continues his good form and gets his first goal for Napoli in the draw with Sampdoria. But Napoli will have to start winning close games like this again if they are to hang on to a place in Europe next season.

10/03/11 UEFA Europa League

0 Villarreal

3 SSC Napoli

Ezequiel Lavezzi (51 P, 68 P, 70)

Once again Napoli struggles with suspensions. That forces the team to play very defensive and in the first half it was all about Villarreal. In the second half it all changed and turned in to the Ezequiel Lavezzi show as Napoli picks up a huge road win in Europe.

13/03/11 Serie A

0 SSC Napoli

1 FC Internazionale Milano

Napoli had a good chance to get a result at home against league leader Inter and when Wesley Sneijder got injured already after 10 minutes of play the odds got even better. It was Napoli who hade the biggest chances but it was Inter who got the game only goal and came away with the 3 points.

17/03/11 UEFA Europa League

1 SSC Napoli

1 Villarreal

José Ernesto Sosa (11)

With a 3-0 win in the first leg Napoli rested a lot of starters and gave playing time to some of the young players. Napoli played safe with a lot of men behind the ball. Without breaking much of a sweat Napoli played for a tie and moved on to the next round. Only negative was a red card for Camilo Zungia for a professional foul.

Napoli drew Aston Villa who is currently 8th in the English Premier League in the next round. They will play at home in the first game.

20/03/11 Serie A

1 Brescia Calcio

3 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (1)

Emmanuel Culio (12)

Marek Hamšík (54)

It only took Culio and Cavani 24 seconds to combine there way thru the defends for the first goal. 11 minutes later Emmanuel Culio got a goal of his own to double the lead. Marek Hamšík joint the fun in the second half scoring his 10th goal of the season.

A good result for Napoli before the players goes away on international duties for a week.

Edinson Cavani picked up an ankle injury in Argentina’s national game against Ireland. He will be out for close to 3 weeks.

[Northwood_dk]

April 2011

03/04/11 Serie A

2 ACF Fiorentina

2 SSC Napoli

Ezequiel Lavezzi (5)

Emmanuel Culio (49)

With Cavani out with injury, Ezequiel Lavezzi took full advantage and scored already after 5 minutes after a huge mistake in the Fiorentina defends. The rest of the first half was dominated by Fiorentina and they scored on a penalty and then again after a corner. In the second half Napoli played a lot better and was unlucky not to win after Fiorentina was reduced to 10 men after a red card 15 minutes before full time.

07/04/11 UEFA Europa League

2 SSC Napoli

0 Aston Villa

Marek Hamšík (2)

Manuele Blasi (31)

Once again Napoli gets off to a dream start in the UEFA Europa League with a goal in the first minutes of the game. Napoli have several chances to get a second goal and it comes after 31 minutes on a blast from Blasi. In the second half its all Napoli but they are not able to score again.

10/04/11 Serie A

0 SSC Napoli

2 AC Cesena

Ezequiel Lavezzi (58)

Emmanuel Culio (90+1)

Against the second worst team in the league Napoli try to rest a few players. It takes the team some time to find a rhythm and its take another great move by Lavezzi to put them ahead. Cesena has several chances to equalize but in the end Culio puts it out of reach with a late goal.

The Serie A is almost decided. After an Inter win today and a Roma draw. Inter finds themselves 8 points clear with just 6 games remaining.

14/04/11 UEFA Europa League

2 Aston Villa

2 SSC Napoli

José Ernesto Sosa (21)

Marek Hamšík (62)

When Aston Villa pulled one back already after 7 minutes it was game-on. The nerves settled a bit when Sosa scored after 20 minutes. In the second half there were chances both ways but the goal by Hamšík in the 62nd minute ended the game.

Napoli will play Leverkusen in the semifinal while Man City will play Porto in the other match.

17/04/11 Serie A

2 SSC Napoli

0 AC Chievo Verona

Emmanuel Culio (24)

José Ernesto Sosa (69)

It was the league #3 and #4 (both with 55 points) going up against each other in a game that could easily decided Euro play next season. Napoli played solid in the first half and got the lead on a goal by Culio in the 24th minute. The second half was mostly a question if Napoli had the stamina after a hard program the last few weeks to keep Chievo away the entire game. Chievo had more chances in the second half but the game was decided on a counterattack finished off by Sosa. The win means that Napoli stays in 3rd place while Chievo dropped all the way to 7th.

The bad new for Napoli was that the lost another striker (Lavezzi) to injury.

23/04/11 Serie A

0 Bologna FC

1 SSC Napoli

Marek Hamšík (85)

With both Cavani and Lavezzi sidelined with injury Napoli was down to there 3rd options as striker. Cristiano Lucarelli started the game on top but had a horrible game and was substituted at halftime due to bad performance and bad form. In the second half Mads Stokkelien came on and did a good job up front. He was also the creator behind the late winner by Hamšík.

28/04/11 UEFA Europa League

1 SSC Napoli

1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Edinson Cavani (41)

In front of 60240 people Napoli decided to start with Edinson Cavani on top even if he was not 100% back from his injury. The gamble paid off when he scored a goal in the 41st minute. Before that Leverkusen had scored the first goal of the game on a direct free kick.

In the second half Cavani had several chances to add a second goal but was denied. Despite a hard pressure Napoli was unable to get a second goal and now have to play to win in Germany next week.

[Northwood_dk]

May 2011

01/05/11 Serie A

1 SSC Napoli

0 Cagliari Calcio

Edinson Cavani (81)

Napoli had some tough choices to make as the needed a win over Cagliari but also had to rest players to have them ready for the return leg against Leverkusen later in the week. That left Cavani and Hamšík on the bench to start the game. Napoli totally dominated the first half but failed to score.

With just 15 minutes to play and still 0-0 Cavani and Hamšík was brought on and it only took Hamšík 6 minutes to find Cavani for the game winner.

Napoli needs 4 points in the last 3 games to guaranties play in the Champions league next season but the brutal schedule continues.

05/05/11 UEFA Europa League

3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen

3 SSC Napoli

Marek Hamšík (4)

Edinson Cavani (61, 79)

Napoli gets off to a flying start in BayArena when Hamšík scores after just 3 minutes. The lead only held for 4 minutes when Leverkusen scored on a fantastic longshot and the two team was back to equal. Leverkusen then takes the lead after 34 minutes after another great long shot but one more goal will still send Napoli to the final. When the Germans went up 3-1 after 58 minutes on a penalty kick it started to look really bad for Napoli. But hope was restored just a few minutes later when Cavani pulled one back. With just 12 minutes left to play Napoli got the break they needed when Cavani got away from the defends and he made no mistakes.

The last 10 minutes is all about Leverkusen when they throw everything forward but the Napoli defends bend but don’t break and after 3 minutes of painful overtime it’s all over.

NAPOLI is in the UEFA Europa League final…..

In the final that is to be played in Aviva Stadium in Dublin on the 18 May Napoli will go up against Man City who beat Porto 2-1. Man City has been a huge disappointment in the English Premier League where they are currently in 9th place.

08/05/11 Serie A

1 SSC Napoli

2 Juventus

Edinson Cavani (14)

Napoli plays with confidence against Juventus and Cavani once again gives them the lead after 14 minutes. Juventus draws back after a corner goal. After the goal Juventus takes control of the game and they take the lead on a huge mistake by keeper Morgan De Sanctis just before the half.

In the second half Juventus continues to dominate and the few chances Napoli creates is taken care of by a brilliant Buffon in the Juve goal and just like that Napoli’s 11 game streak without a loss comes to an end.

With an easy 4-0 home win FC Internazionale Milano secure the 6th national title in a row, with two games left to play in the season. Romas is locked in at second and Napoli has a 3 points advantage in 3rd place.

14/05/11 Serie A

2 AS Roma

0 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (14)

The 250th league appearance for Emílson Cribari was hugely important to Napoli but meaningless to Roma. Still it was Roma who took the lead after just 4 minutes of play. In the 42nd minute Roma had defender Cicinho set off with a direct red card. Napoli took control of the second half but instead of getting a goal they gave up an easy goal after a corner.

Napoli then decided to give up and pulled Cavani and Hamšík and rest the for the Euro League final next week.

18/05/11 UEFA Europa League Final

2 Manchester City

1 SSC Napoli

Paolo Cannavaro (31)

Man City opened the game best and dominated the first half hour of play with several good chances. Still it was Napoli who took the lead after 31 minutes of play when Paolo Cannavaro beat the English defense on a corner and headed in his 8th goal of the season to give Napoli the lead.

In the second half it was more the same and the constant Man City pressure paid of in the 64th minute when Adebayor scored the equalizer. In the 81st minute Cavani had the chance to decide the game when he got a free run at the goal, but for once his lost his cool and City keeper Hart won the duel. And on the very next possession Man City decided the game when Farfàn scored on a curling long shot.

Napoli threw everything but the kitchen sink at Man City in the last 10 minutes without much effect and new Manager Tom Northwood had to see his first chance of a thropyh with Napoli come up just short.

22/05/11 Serie A

1 SSC Napoli

2 Genoa CFC

Edinson Cavani (1)

Michele Pazienza (14)

Christian Maggio (25, 56)

Coming of the major letdown of loosing the UEFA Europa League Final, Napoli had to get back up for the last regular season game of the season that could secure Champions League player next year.

Cavani showed no letdown and scored after just 33 second of play. After 8 minutes Genoa had the chance to draw level but the put the penalty kick went to the side of the net. Michele Pazienza then got his first goal of the season. Christian Maggio then scored from 30yds out and the 45000 Napoli fans could start to celebrate a 3rd place finish in the league.

Maggio adds a second goal in the second half where Napoli just tries to run out the clock.

[RichG]

Good luck with this mate.

I went to Napoli in a hot seat game with a friend. Got sacked after 7 games. drew 2 lost 5 and they booted me out lol

Going well so far

[Northwood_dk]

Good luck with this mate.

I went to Napoli in a hot seat game with a friend. Got sacked after 7 games. drew 2 lost 5 and they booted me out lol

Going well so far

Thanks for the kind words RichG.

At least I survived the first season. Let’s hope for the sake of this dynasty report that I can keep it going a little longer. At this point the board and fans are pretty happy with me.

[Northwood_dk]

Roll of Honour – Leagues

 
[b][u][size=4]Italy Seria A[/size][/u][/b]

[b]-------------1st----------2nd----------3rd ----------Relegated--------------- Promoted --------------------------------[/b]
[b]2010/11[/b] | Inter        | Roma    |  [color="#00bfff"][b]Napoli[/b][/color]  |  Brescis Lecce Cesena  | Livorn Sassuolo Atalanta     

 
[b][u][size=4]English Premier League[/size][/u][/b]

[b]-----------1st----------2nd----------3rd ------------Relegated------------------ Promoted --------------------------------[/b]
[b]2010/11[/b] | Man Utd  | Chelsea | Tottenham |  Wolves Newcastle Blackpool | Middlesbrough  Swansea  Burnley

 
[b][u][size=4]Spain La Liga[/size][/u][/b]

[b]--------------1st----------2nd----------3rd ------------Relegated------------------ Promoted --------------------------------[/b]
[b]2010/11[/b] | Barcelona | Real Madrid | At. Madrid |  Racing Herculès Deportivo | Xerez

 
[b][u][size=4]France Ligue 1[/size][/u][/b]

[b]--------------1st----------2nd----------3rd ------------Relegated------------------ Promoted --------------------------------[/b]
[b]2010/11[/b] | O Lyonnais  | OM      | Paris SG    |  AS Nancy L Stade Brestois A A-Avignon | Chäteauroux Evian TG GF 38

 
[b][u][size=4]Holland Eredivisie[/size][/u][/b]

[b]--------------1st----------2nd--------3rd ------------Relegated------------------ Promoted --------------------------------[/b]
[b]2010/11[/b] |   AZ      |   NEC      | FC Twente |  Excelsior Willem II | Sparta FC Zwolle

 
[b][u][size=4]Denmark SuperLiga[/size][/u][/b]

[b]--------------1st----------2nd----------3rd ------------Relegated------------------ Promoted --------------------------------[/b]
[b]2010/11[/b] | FC Midtjylland | Brøndby | AaB    |  Silkeborg Sønderjyske | AGF Viborg

[Northwood_dk]

Roll of Honour – Cups

UEFA Champions League

2010/11: Man Utd 0-2 FC Bayern Munich

Euro Cup

2010/11: Man City 2-1 SSC Napoli

English FA Cup

2010/11: Everton e 1-0 Man City

French Cup

2010/11: FC Sochaux-Montbè 4-3 Paris Saint-Germain

Italian Cup

2010/11: Inter e 2-1 Sampdoria

Spanish Cup

2010/11: Valencia 1-2 Real Madrid CF

European Championship

2012:

FIFA World Cup

2014:

[Northwood_dk]

Roll of Honour – Players

World player of the year

2010/11: 1st - Lionel Messi – 2nd C Ronaldo – 3rd – Wayne Rooney

European keeper of the year

2010/11: 1st – Iker Casillas – 2nd Julio Cesar – 3rd – Diego Benaglio

European defender of the year

2010/11: 1st – Gerard Pique – 2nd Sergio Ramos – 3rd – Maicon

European midfielder of the year

2010/11: 1st - Lionel Messi – 2nd C Ronaldo – 3rd – Xavi

European striker of the year

2010/11: 1st - Wayne Rooney – 2nd David Villa – 3rd – Fernando Torres

European Golden Boot

2010/11: 1st - Lionel Messi – 2nd D Drogba – 3rd – Antonio Di Natale

[Northwood_dk]

June 2011

05/06/11 Manager News

The manager carousel in England went crazy just days after the season was over. Liverpool sacked manager Roy Hodgson after the team finished the season in 5th place. He was replaced by Roberto Mancini who was out in Man City. Harry Redknapp was the new man in Man City after being sacked from Tottenham. Tottenham will this season be managed by Sam Allardyce.

Aston Villa also sacks there manager Gerard Houllier and replaced him with David Moyes.

10/06/11 Manager News

Michael Laudrup has agreed to terms with Everton to take over as manager. The former Danish super star was sacked by Mallorca earlier this year.

13/06/11 Transfer News

32-year old Napoli player Salvatore Aronica was today sold to Everton for £450.000. Aronica was with Napoli for 3 years but played the entire 2010/11 season in Tottenham on a loan deal.

15/06/11 World news

The European club ranking was announced today. While Napoli was only ranked 57th overall the club was still thrilled to see that they we ranked as the 6th best team in Europe for the 2010/11 season.

On top of the list was Man Utd in front of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

19/06/11 Transfer News

Napoli today made the first transfer move of the new season. Napoli picked up another Lyngby player. This time DC Frederik Sørensen. The player is not unknown to Italian football as he spend all last season on a loan deal with Juventus. Adding another Danish player will hopefully also be a positive move for Emil Larsen who struggled with Napoli last season.

Napoli will pay Lyngby £1.3mil for the 19 year old Dane who will join the team when the transfer window opens in the start of July.

29/06/11 Finance News

Napoli today announced a profit for the 2010/11 season of £14.25 mil. That is before the money TV rights for the upcoming season is announced. Napoli is expected to receive close to £40mil on that account.

[o JaY]

Unlucky about the Europa League mate, but congrats on Champions League football next year

[Northwood_dk]

Unlucky about the Europa League mate, but congrats on Champions League football next year

Kind words but I don’t think it has much to do with luck. Looking at the two rosters I guess Man City will win 8 out of 10 times.

Looking forward to the CL. Just to bad we are only 3rd seed and will get a tough draw.

[omnivore]

I'm reading over here too.

[Northwood_dk]

I'm reading over here too.

Thanks.

We FOFers need to stick together.

[Northwood_dk]

July 2011

01/07/11 Transfer News

With a transfer budget close to £20mil Napoli starts the hunt to improve the team before the upcoming season. Napoli have decided to let Paolo Cannavaro go to Inter so the biggest need will be to find a new central defender.

Cannavaro is 30-years old and the Napoli front office decided it was time to go younger instead of paying big money to renew his contract.

02/07/11 Transfer News

Napoli made a few minor trades on the first day of free trading.

Left midfielder Frantisek Kubik was brought inn from ADO Den Haag and 19-year old Jacopo Dezi was picked up from Serie 1B club Giulianova. Both of them will start out in the youth or reserve team.

04/07/11 Contract News

Napoli today offered manager Tom Northwood a new four year contract worth £15250 pr week

With an offer of £7.5mil Napoli hoped they had a chance to get a trade done for Rasmus Elm from AZ. But that was before Benfica put £11.25mil on the table for the 23-year old Swedish midfielder. If the trade is confirmed it will be the 3rd biggest trade this fare this season.

05/07/11 Transfer News

In the Italian newspapers the latest story about Napoli is that the team has agreed with Shakhtar on a deal for 20-year old defender Sergiy Kryvtsov and that the team has started talks with the player/agent on a personal contract.

The deal was confirmed later in the day and Napoli will pay Shakhtar £4.5mil for the young player.

06/07/11 Transfer News

Napoli today confirmed that Fabio Quagliarella has been transfer listed by the club. Quagliarella played last season for Juventus on a loan deal and it’s rumored that Fulham, Birmingham and Man City might be willing to pay upward to £9mil for the 28-year old striker.

08/07/11 Transfer News

Fabio Quagliarella was today lost for Napoli when he was sold for a Napoli record £10mil. The buyer was “of cause” Man City. Napoli manager now suddenly got £20mil to use in the transfer marked.

13/07/11 Manager News

Brazil is looking for a new manager for the national team after they today finished last in there group at the Copa America and failed to make the quarterfinal.

15/07/11 Transfer News

Napoli today made an interesting move when the paid Danish side FC Nordsjælland £750K for 20-year old Andreas Laudrup. Andreas is perhaps best known as being the younger son of former Danish international super star Michael Laudrup.

17/07/11 Friendly

2 SSC Napoli

1 Napoli Reserves

José Ernesto Sosa (59, 86)

Just like last season a very slow start for the Napoli players. 20 players got playing time in the first team in today’s game.

18/07/11 Transfer News

After a crazy bidding war Rasmus Elm ends up with Man City. They pay AZ £10mil for the young Swede and he will earn a healthy £56000 pr week in Manchester. The owners of Man City have now used and astonishing £198mil on new player in the last two seasons.

23/07/11 Friendly

1 River Plate (URU)

1 SSC Napoli

Marek Hamšík (15)

Napoli decided to travel all the way to South America to play a single warm-up game.

Argentina today won the Copa America with a 1-0 win over Uruguay. The single goal was scored by Carlos Tevez.

Japan finished in 3rd place.

24/07/11 Transfer News

Napoli today used about a 3rd of there remaining transfer budget when the paid £7.5 mil for Bulgarian midfielder Ivelin Popov. The 23-year old player can play all over the midfield but will likely battle with José Ernesto Sosa for the place as AMR.

25/07/11 Transfer News

The credit card is getting hot in Napoli as the team today spends another £4.1 mil on 22-year old Belgian striker Jelle Vossen. He was beloved by the fans in Gent last season but is thrilled to join the Italian club.

29/07/11 Friendly

0 Sant Andreu (Spanish Second Division 2B)

6 SSC Napoli

Ivelin Popov (5)

Ezequiel Lavezzi (10)

Sergiy Kryvtsov (13)

Marek Hamšík (47)

Andreas Laudrup (63)

Edinson Cavani (89)

Napoli is slowly playing themselves in to form. Several of the new and young players had impressive performances today.

[o JaY]

Great result vs Sant Andreu, are the new players slowly gelling into the team?

[Northwood_dk]

Great result vs Sant Andreu, are the new players slowly gelling into the team?

Guess Sant Andreu was not the sternest of tests but it was a win and was good for moral.

The new players are looking good. Popov looks to be solid. Kryvtsov is very young but I still hope he can be a solid player already this year. The young Laudrup have surprised a lot in the preseason and might actually see some minutes on the field.

[Northwood_dk]

August 2011

02/08/11 Transfer news

Napoli manager Tom Northwood today told the press that he had made the last deal before the start of the regular season. The latest new player in Napoli is 26-year old Dutch Nigel De Jong. He will join Napoli on a loan deal from Man City where he has started 63 games over the last two seasons. This year he was out of the first team and was glad for the move to Italy and a possibility for first team football.

06/08/11 Friendly

3 Blackburn (UK)

0 SSC Napoli

Napoli had an absolutely horrible day today. The team was down 3-0 before the half hour mark and the team completely failed to produce any real chances.

08/08/11 Transfer news

Liverpool who have already spend £27mil in the transfer marked this season decided to use another million to bring in 38-year old !! left back Roberto Carlos.

10/08/11 Transfer news

Napoli today decided to loan out Markus Henriksen to CFR Cluj in Romania. Henriksen was getting unsettled in Napoli and was complaining about lack of first team football.

14/08/11 Friendly

0 Castellòn (Spanish Second Division 3B)

6 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (20)

Fabiano Santacroce (28)

Nigel De Jong (37, 55)

Andreas Laudrup (47)

Ivelin Popov (79)

In the last game before the start of the regular season Napoli gets back on track with a solid road win over a weak Spanish team.

20/08/11 Serie A

1 AS Bari

2 SSC Napoli

Ivelin Popov (25)

Edinson Cavani (81)

The season opened great for Napoli when Popov scored in his debut. But the rest of the first half was dominated by Bari and it was all square at halftime. Bari continued to dominate in the second half but without scoring again and instead the game was decided by Cavani who slided in the cross from Sosa less then 10 minutes before full time.

Popov get injured during the game and will be out between 4-6 weeks.

25/08/11 UEFA Champions League news

Napoli today got the first payoff for making this years champions league when they received £6.2mil for playing in the group stage. Napoli was in the 3rd level in the draw and ended up in group F with defending champions Bayern Munich, France champions OM and Levski from Bulgaria.

Napoli also today announced that they have sold 26099 seasons tickets this season. That’s up from 23000 last season.

28/08/11 Serie A

1 AS Livorno Calcio

1 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (3)

In the second game of the season against newly promoted Livorno Napoli struggled. They got off to a great start with a Cavani goal after just 3 minutes but after that Livorno took control and Napoli never got back in to the game.

[Northwood_dk]

September 2011

10/09/11 Serie A

2 SSC Napoli

0 Atalanta BC

Luca Cigarini (61)

José Sosa (77)

After a long layoff due to international football Napoli struggled again against a newly promoted team. Atalanta had a man sent off already after 8 minutes after a professional foul. Still Napoli had to wait an hour for the first goal. That was scored by Luca Cigarini who earlier in the week had asked to be put on the transfer list due to little playing time since his return from a loan to Seville. The game also saw a debut for Frantisek Kubikk.

14/09/11 UEFA Champions League

1 Levski (BUL)

3 SSC Napoli

Marek Hamsik (20)

José Sosa (60, 74)

For the second game in a row Napoli’s opponent gets a man send off within the first 20 minutes of play but this time it only takes Napoli a few minutes to take advantage. In the second half it turns in to a José Sosa show when he scored twice in fifteen minutes and continues his great run of form. Levski gets a late consolation goal but Napoli gets the important road win in the Champions League.

17/09/11 Serie A

4 SSC Napoli

0 Palermo

Christian Maggio (25, 76)

Sergiy Kryvtsov (32)

Fabiano Santacroce (49)

Napoli rested a tired Sosa but it didn’t make a difference as his replacement Christian Maggio came in and scored two goals for Napoli in today’s win. Just 6 minutes after the first Maggio goal Sergiy Kryvtsov scored his first ever goal for Napoli after a corner. In the second half Fabiano Santacroce got on the scoresheet with his first ever goal for Napoli after playing 68 games for over 5 seasons for the team.

21/09/11 Serie A

0 AC Chievo Verona

2 SSC Napoli

Edinson Cavani (19, 39)

Before the game it looked like Napoli was having a luxury problem with several players showing excellent form. Napoli did start out best by Chievo had some dangerous counterattacks. Still it turned out to be an easy Napoli win when Cavani turned on his show.

24/09/11 Serie A

0 SSC Napoli

3 S.S Lazio

On just 3 days of rest Napoli takes on Lazio. It started bad for Napoli when the ball hit Sergiy Kryvtsov and went in to his own goal after 16 minutes and before the half they added another. In the second half Napoli had the ball a lot more but it was still Lazio scoring the only goal when they were rewarded a penalty on a counterattack.

This was a loss the Napoli fans did not like very much.

27/09/11 UEFA Champions League

0 SSC Napoli

0 Olympique de Marseille (FRA)

This was very possible the key game in the Champions league for Napoli and they came out with an intensity to match it. The first half was Napoli’s but in the second OM took over. It didn’t help Napoli that they had De Jong sent off with a red card.

OM had the chance to win the game when they were given a penalty just 5 minutes before full time but a great save by Morgan De Sanctis saved Napoli the 1 point.

The tough program is also starting to show as Christian Maggio is out for 2-4 months with a hip injury.

[o JaY]

Nice start in the league

[Northwood_dk]

Nice start in the league

Not bad.

But I don’t like that we are picking up that many injuries already. A big contrast to last season when we were hardly touched by injury.

[Northwood_dk]

2011/12 Napoli Roster

With the season now underway and the transfer window closed its time to take a closer look at the roster Napoli will run out on the field this season.

Projected starting 11 marked in bold

Goalkeeper

Morgan De Sanctis ITA

Matteo Gianello ITA

Cristian Paloschi ITA

Davide Napoli ITA

Alberto Bellomi ITA

Giuseppe Bonaiuti ITA

Morgan De Sanctis will be the anchorman on the Napoli team again this season. Napoli will hope he can repeat last years performance where he finished the year with a 7.03 average rating and even was called up for the national team.

Behind De Sanctis it’s very empty and it will be a surprise if Napoli don’t spend some of all there available transfer money on a young talent who can take over when the now 34-year old De Sanctis is no longer a dependable option.

[Northwood_dk]

2011/12 Napoli Roster

Defense

Sergiy Kryvtsov UKR

Andrea Dossena ITA

Fabiano Santacroce ITA

Camilo Zúñiga COL

Fernando Tobio ARG

Leandro Rinaudo ITA

Frederik Sørensen DEN

Erminio Rullo ITA

Luca Grillo ITA

Alessandro Diana ITA

Francesco Bruno ITA

Matteo Ruggiero ITA

Tommaso Bindi ITA

Paolo Melcarne ITA

This looks like a recipe for disaster. Napoli paid over £5mil for Fernando Tobio last season but in the few games he played he made to many costly mistakes. He will have to step up his game this season if he is to be considered a reliable solution.

Dossena and Zúñiga will cover the two flanks but if they get injured Napoli will have a huge problem as it’s almost empty behind them. This is another issue Napoli will have to address in the next transfer window. Fabiano Santacroce is a good role-player but not the key player Napoli needs to pluck in to the defensive line.

Napoli did sign two new players on defends in Sergiy Kryvtsov and Frederik Sørensen. But can a 19 and a 20 year old really be expected to contribute much, and much less take over the control of the Napoli defends from a player like Paolo Cannavaro.

[Northwood_dk]

2011/12 Napoli Roster

Midfield

Marek Hamsik SVK

Ivelin Popov BUL

José Sosa ARG

Nigel de Jong NED

Christian Maggio ITA

Walter Gargano URU

Luca Cigarini ITA

Emil Larsen DEN

Luigi Vitale ITA

Manuele Blasi ITA

Emmanuel Culio ARG

Michele Pazienza ITA

Mariano Bogliacino URU

Erminio Rullo ITA

Andreas Laudrup DEN

Camillo Ciano ITA

Lorenzo Insigne ITA

Frantisek Kubik SVK

Raffaele Maiello ITA

This group looks a lot more solid with a nice mix of young and old players. Hamsik is the big star and the biggest concern will be to keep him happy in Napoli. Newly signed Popov will start on the right with José Sosa as an excellent backup. The positive surprise from last season Emmanuel Culio will start on the left but also here Napoli has several options.

Nigel de Jong and Gargano will play the defensive ball winning part.

The wildcard looks to be the young Andreas Laudrup who had a surprisingly good preseason.

[Northwood_dk]

2011/12 Napoli Roster

Attack

Edinson Cavani URU

Ezequiel Lavezzi ARG

Jelle Vossen BEL

Erwin Hoffer AUT

Mads Stokkelien NOR

Diego A Montuori ITA

They are maybe not super stars but in Italy Cavani and Lavezzi can put the fear in every defends. Napoli might at some point try to play them together instead of the single-striker formation they played all last year.

Behind them young Jelle Vossen and Norwegian Mads Stokkelien will have to watch and learn while fighting for the few chances they will get to make an impression.