There has been a season’s worth of needless drama crammed into the space of three months as Napoli have stuttered to establish themselves under coach Rudi Garcia, writes Stephen Kasiewicz.
From the exaggerated controversy of ill-considered social media posts, supposed player unrest, forthright agent demands and a president unafraid to voice his opinion on anything and everything, the Partenopei have struggled amid a catalogue of unnecessary off-the-field chaos.
Uninhibited owner Aurelio De Laurentiis publicly questioned Garcia while opting not to fire him and free agent coach Antonio Conte ruled out a return to the dugout at the Stadio Maradona or elsewhere. Never one to stay silent he also raged that Serie A would cease to exist in a bitter diatribe about television rights.
Amid the glut of sensational headlines, Napoli have stumbled to keep any lingering title hopes alive.
The reigning Italian champions sit seven points adrift of leaders Inter after another Jekyll and Hyde performance in a thrillingly imbalanced 2-2 home stalemate with Milan.
Charitable in defence and transfixed by the forward manoeuvers of the men in red and black in a bewildering opening half Garcia made personnel and tactical changes to rescue a point after the break.
Without injured attacking talisman Victor Osimhen, the French coach started with Giacomo Raspadori up front before bringing on centre-forward Giovanni Simeone in the second half. A positional switch provided Italy international Raspadori more freedom to initiate behind his Argentinian team-mate and he curled in a sublime free-kick to level after Matteo Politano’s brilliant solo strike.
The irrepressible Khvicha Kvaratskhelia almost snatched a winner before the final whistle yet the image of the Georgian winger stretched out on the turf in utter frustration summed up a fractured start to the campaign.
The aggressive pressing and brisk movement on and off the ball during a pulsating second period bore all the hallmarks of Luciano Spalletti’s champions. Yet the failure to capitalise and seize a third as Milan clung on the ropes summed up the shortcomings of Garcia’s Napoli.
Much was made of the French tactician’s adherence to the 4-3-3 system in which the Campania club thrived under Spalletti’s guidance. It simply hasn’t functioned the same way this time around.
While a host of lamentable individual mistakes have blighted the Partenopei, most notably in the collapses against both Lazio and Fiorentina, it’s a collective breakdown in the defensive and midfield units that has been most alarming.
Wide open expanses have emerged out of possession as Napoli continually lose all sense of position and composure. Milan could easily have been out of sight in a stunning first-half stretch where they had an excess of room to test a badly exposed Alex Meret.
An alteration in the formation might succeed in closing the gaps although there’s a sense that any coach was doomed to failure after Spalletti’s near-perfect title-winning term. None of Napoli’s rivals look likely to fall away this season either.
Garcia certainly hasn’t won over the critics despite two hard-fought Champions League away victories at Braga and Union Berlin.
Calls for his dismissal will continue unabated as five wins from the opening 10 league games is an unsatisfactory return for a richly talented squad equipped to contest at the very top of the Classifica. A vocal section of the club’s supporters already think he’s been given too much time at the helm. It will take something extraordinary to change their minds.
Injuries aside Napoli have only failed to score once in all competitions this term (in the goalless draw at Bologna) yet it’s the fragility of their backline which is still a major cause for concern. Natan’s late red card at Stadio Maradona won’t make things any easier.
The next trio of Serie A fixtures could seal Garcia’s fate as anything less than maximum points against Salernitana (away), Empoli (home) and Atalanta (away) will leave the Partenopei irretrievably detached from the leaders.
Expect more incident, excitement and commotion in what could be a decisive November for a club playing well below expectations in an already fraught campaign.