Napoli have forgotten how to play as a team
Napoli’s difficulties reveal how individual effort can fail without collective organisation, clear leadership and players who respond together under pressure.
After the draw with Lazio, Massimiliano Allegri defended his players’ attitude and saw the performance as something to build on. The club reaffirmed its confidence in him. After defeats to Juventus and Porto, it is understandable that the priority should be to bring the group together. But the question that interests me most remains. How can a team that works hard look so fragile?
Over the past ten completed Serie A seasons, Napoli have won two league titles, finished second three times and third twice. Seven top-three finishes in ten years show how consistently the club has competed at the top. That record makes it worth asking what has happened to Napoli’s ability to play as a team when a match gets difficult.
The quality of commitment shows in how well individual efforts come together on the pitch. Napoli look short of cohesion, especially when their lines react at different times and leave opponents too much space. A forward can work hard to press, but if the midfield is slow to push up, the opposition can play through the press and find space between the lines. The same problem appears after a turnover, when some players try to win the ball back while others drop off. The intensity of a team’s play depends in part on how quickly players read the situation and move together.
The summer transfer window, injuries and fixture congestion all affect the options available to Allegri.
With Kevin De Bruyne, age matters insofar as it helps us understand what he can do consistently and how Napoli can make the most of his qualities. There is also the question of motivation. What drives him today, after everything he has won, and what challenge does he see for himself at Napoli? His experience can help teammates read the game and take the initiative. That makes it important to know whether he and Allegri share the same aims and whether the role Allegri has in mind matches the contribution De Bruyne wants to make at this stage of his career. If their expectations differ, Napoli are still some way from working out how to get the best out of him.
The risk I see is that everyone already has an explanation ready if Napoli fail to qualify for Europe. The club can point to injuries, the coach to the schedule, and the players can say they gave everything. Each explanation may carry some truth. But if those explanations dominate the conversation now, there is less urgency to change what is still within the team’s control. This is where a winning mentality shows. Injuries may call for a more cautious game plan, and stronger opponents may force the team to defend for longer spells. Even then, players can give their best as a team by backing each other’s decisions and keeping their shape as the game changes.
In my view, what Napoli lack most is a player who takes the lead when the team starts to lose its grip on the game. After conceding a goal or twice failing to play out from the back, they need someone who notices the gaps opening up, calls on teammates to close them and makes the first move himself. You can see whether that leadership works in the very next passage of play, when teammates respond and start moving together again.
The second half against Lazio gave Allegri something to build on. The test will come in the next difficult match, when the opposition take control and players are tempted to put things right on their own. Those are the minutes that show how much each player’s effort is worth to the team.
Originally published on AlbertoCei.com. Republished with the author’s permission.