Napoli continue to lead the table, is this finally their year!? Fiorentina on the other hand have been the disappointment of the season, plus a little known goalkeeper you need to check out.
By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert
Can Napoli pull this off?
It’s been over three decades since Napoli won their last Serie A scudetto; back when a certain Diego Armando Maradona was walking around the streets of Naples as the most iconic figure the city has ever seen. Since then, they haven’t come close to matching the success seen in the early 90s. While there have been a few seasons in the last decade where Napoli nearly took the Scudetto away from Juventus during their eight year dominance, they always finished behind the Bianconeri, and couldn’t secure the silverware that a series of strong sides perhaps should have done.
This year feels different. What was supposed to be a rebuild through youth turned out to be a much more competitive side that hasn’t cowered down to anyone. As it stands, they’re in first place in Serie A, one of the only four remaining undefeated teams in the top five European leagues, and they top their Champions League group. They batter the opposition with a barrage of chances, often playing lightning quick passing combinations that stun a defence and put Napoli in a prime position to score. It’s hard to find a weakness in the squad. And even players like Mário Rui – who was questionable in the past – have raised their game under the manager Luciano Spalletti.
Napoli currently have ten straight wins in all competitions. It’s a chance for Spalletti to remind everyone that he’s one of the finest attack minded managers that Italy has seen in the 21st century. His Napoli came into the season as 25/1 Scudetto underdogs, but currently look like the team to beat. Another thing that’s gone in their favour is that the usual suspects have all been struggling in different ways. Milan have been decimated by injuries, Juventus have mostly played a dreadful brand of football, and Inter have slipped up against teams they should be beating with some bizarrely poor defending.
Even when Napoli face adversity, like they did this weekend against Bologna, they show resilience and personality. Kvicha Kvaratskhelia has added more layers to his game each round. At first, his dazzling dribbling steals the spotlight, but when you look at him closer you see his full array of talent – with a vision as intelligent as his passing. Add his creativity to his unstoppable one-on-one ability and the way he can finish with either foot, and suddenly you have a player who looks pretty much unstoppable. Napoli’s new superstar in the making could cement his legacy in the city – if he can deliver a trophy in his first season at the club.
Fiorentina have been a massive disappointment
One of the more surprising subplots of the Serie A season is how poor Fiorentina have been. They sit in 13th place after yet another underwhelming result, this time Monday’s draw against lowly Lecce.
The stats surrounding Fiorentina are a bizarre anomaly. How is it possible that the team with the highest average possession in the league (nearly 61%) and the most accurate long balls and crosses per game, could struggle this much to score goals? It doesn’t take the most intricate statistics in the world to know that there’s a direct correlation between possession and success. The teams that have the most of the ball should theoretically create more chances and concede less. This couldn’t be any less of the case for the Viola, as they have the second worst offense in the league with only eight goals scored in their first 10 matches.
The manager Vincenzo Italiano was last season’s darling, often fielding a fearless team that approached every game the same way no matter who was on the other side. Over the summer, it seemed like they fixed their biggest weakness: a direct replacement for striker Dušan Vlahović, who left in January for Juventus. Luka Jović joined from Real Madrid, and the hope was that he’d be able to finally score the amount of goals deserved for a team that often dominated possession in the opponent’s half. Jović’s form is still a far cry from the player that banged in 17 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018/19, a season that convinced Real Madrid to spend €60M for the young attacker. Jović has only managed one goal in 551 minutes of Serie A play this season, which is more akin to the disappointing rate he managed at Real Madrid the few times he did get a chance to play.
Fiorentina only look like a Jović string of goals away from finally hitting their stride in the league. The possession and creativity are there, the end product is not. They’re far too talented to be in the second half of the table, so I’m thinking this is just an early season rut and still have hope that a player with Jović’s pedigree will figure things out and start delivering the goals up front.
Guglielmo Vicario is a name you need to know
If your first thought was “who?” then join most of the football community. After all, it’s not often that an Empoli goalkeeper becomes a name talked about outside of the most passionate Serie A circles. But he should be – Vicario might just be the best Italian goalkeeper at the moment. Stretching back to last season, the keeper has put together highlight reel after highlight reel, single-handedly keeping Empoli in games through his otherworldly reflexes and shot stopping ability.
One quick YouTube search will show you plenty of montages, some even put together by the official Serie A channel, with a collection of Vicario’s best work in-between the pipes. This past weekend against Monza, one save in particular made all of the headlines for just how quickly he reacted to a shot inside the box. It’s one of those saves that makes you watch the replay over and over, wondering how it’s humanly possible to react in a millisecond. Vicario has already formed a sort of cult following with Calcio affiliated social media accounts who fawn over the quality and style of his saves.
The Udine born Vicario is entering his prime at 26 years old, and his performances haven’t gone unnoticed, as Italy boss Roberto Mancini named him to be part of the Azzurri UEFA Nations League squad for the games against England and Hungary. I’d be shocked if Vicario didn’t join a big club at the end of this season. This isn’t a player who has just had a month of great form – Vicario has now been delivering at a high level for two seasons. He’s the real deal.
(Images from IMAGO)
You can follow every match from the 2022/23 Serie A season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.