One man was deemed culpable for Napoli’s faltering title defence, yet Stephen Kasiewicz asks if in the endless blame game, Rudi Garcia was solely liable for the Partenopei’s underwhelming opening to the campaign.
The French coach paid the price as owner Aurelio De Laurentiis finally fired him with Napoli 10 points adrift of leaders Inter at the top of Serie A. Veteran Walter Mazzarri was drafted in until the end of the season in another unanticipated move.
While most Napoli fans held Garcia and the free-spoken De Laurentiis responsible for the club’s mixed results, others disagreed. A section of the Partenopei ultras pointed the finger at the squad despite the historic Scudetto victory last term.
One banner doesn’t represent an entire fanbase yet how Mazzarri fosters a positive relationship with the players will shape the rest of the campaign.
Garcia’s shock appointment wasn’t well received by the Napoli tifosi and the former Roma tactician failed to connect with a squad still reeling from Luciano Spalletti’s departure.
The French coach deployed a baffling series of strategies and made bizarre substitutions at key moments. Napoli’s backline and midfield occasionally operated in different postcodes and were particularly susceptible to the transition. Lazio and Fiorentina picked them apart on the counter in two alarming league defeats.
Garcia’s time was up as soon as it emerged De Laurentiis had entered the dressing room in an attempt to rouse the players on two separate occasions against Milan and Union Berlin in the Champions League.
Even the star duo of Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – who had both lavished praise on the inspirational Spalletti – couldn’t deliver under Garcia.
As Napoli misfired early on Osimhen openly questioned his substitution as they sought a late winner in a scoreless draw at Bologna. Kvaratskhelia couldn’t contain his frustration as Garcia took him off as the Campania club recovered from two goals down to claim a point at Genoa.
Misjudged social media posts and interminable speculation about a new contract undoubtedly affected Osimhen. Kvaratskhelia had intermittently sparkled and hadn’t been able to add the finishing touch, most notably as Napoli salvaged a draw at home to Milan and late on as Empoli left Stadio Diego Maradona with an unlikely victory to seal Garcia’s fate. The Georgian seemed in an entirely different mood on Mazzarri’s debut as he scored the opener in an away 2-1 win at Atalanta and even kissed his new coach after the final whistle.
In his second spell at the club, the experienced tactician must coax the best out of a partnership that flourished as Napoli sauntered to clinch a historic third title last term. Undoubtedly, the devastating double act is among the best in Europe while firing on all cylinders.
While Giacomo Raspadori – partly in Osimhen’s injury-enforced absence – and Matteo Politano have excelled, the same cannot be said for a handful of last year’s champions.
It’s not as if the all-conquering Scudetto heroes have transmogrified into hapless duds in the space of a few months. Yet only a few have consistently merited pass marks as Napoli struggled to keep pace with the early frontrunners.
We haven’t always witnessed the best versions of defensive stalwart Amir Rrahmani or the stellar midfield pair of Stanislav Lobotka and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
Of the summer signings only Brazilian stopper Natan has been given adequate playing time to impress. Swedish midfielder Jens Cajuste needs more minutes to fully adapt to Serie A, while Danish winger Jesper Lindstrom has rarely been on the field.
Mazzarri won’t be able to satisfy everyone but the criminally underused Elif Elmas surely has a role to play as Napoli enters an incredibly demanding set of fixtures. It’s no coincidence that the North Macedonia international was decisive on Mazzarri’s second debut as Napoli coach, scoring the winner against La Dea on Saturday.
The defending Serie A champions will need more of the same and the entire Partenopei squad must step up now that the Tuscan-born tactician will lead them into away games at Real Madrid and Juventus and a home showdown against Inter in his first month in charge.
The early signs are promising, but how they emerge from the next three matches could define an already chaotic season marked by confusion and discontent.