Napoli: Benitez era promises much

After having battled their way to a second place finish last year, changes seemed almost inevitable at Napoli. The sale of Cavani was a blow, but the money has been invested wisely, meaning Napoli have a deep squad with a very real chance of winning Serie A.

Cavani was Mr. Napoli for all three of his seasons at the club, although his fee rising to just €17 million. However, the Uruguayan’s blistering pace, energy, and unique yet accurate finishing made him the talk of European football at times. Napoli’s impressive 2011/12 champions league campaign gave foreign clubs their best glimpse yet of what Cavani could do, with help from Ezequiel Lavezzi, Juan Zuniga, Marek Hamsik, Goran Pandev and others. Champions league football did not return to Naples for the 2012/13 season, as they finished fifth in Serie A, and despite winning the Coppa Italia, rumours began to circulate over the future of the club’s key players.

Having already suffered deep financial turmoil and troubles in previous years, Napoli’s owners knew they could not be reckless or overly ambitious, forcing the club to make tough decisions. Lavezzi left for PSG in the summer of 2012, and many expected Cavani to leave then. However, he remained, and proved once more that he was one of the World’s very finest strikers. Cavani’s thoroughly destructive performance against FC Dnipro of the Ukraine in the Europa league in which he scored all four goals in a 4-2 victory was essentially a one match highlight reel of the electrifying Uruguayan. Cavani finished the season with a staggering 38 goals in 43 matches in all competitions, making a move seem almost certain.

Yet again, it was PSG who bought one of Napoli’s stars, with the fee being around €64 million, almost four times the fee spent on Cavani in the first place. Many have begun questioning Napoli’s potential in the Champions league and Serie A without their talisman, but the signings made, as well as the arrival of Rafael Benitez means Napoli could change from being a tricky team to beat with a few in demand players to being a genuine and consistent, European powerhouse.

Napoli’s most notable coup this summer has been Gonzalo Higuain, the Argentine who spent six years at the mighty Real Madrid, but never really reached the heights of certain previous Madrid strikers. Still, the length of Higuain’s stint at Los Meringues and his goal record 122 goals in 246 games proves that he is a world class signing, and could well be one of Serie A’s elite strikers. Just like they did when Cavani was scoring goals for fun, Napoli have plenty of creativity in their squad, with Hamsik, Insigne, and another man signed from Madrid this summer, the technically gifted Jose Callejón, who never quite got enough games for Madrid to really impress. He will be hungry to show why he was touted as a future star in his younger days.

Napoli have a fantastic mix of experience, youth and players at their supposed peak age of mid 20s, as exemplified by their array of defenders. Speaking of experience, Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina has joined on loan from Liverpool, and despite being prone to the odd error or erratic move, he is a top quality shot stopper, and his presence around the dressing room will make the Napoli squad even more United, as Reina will be reunited with former manager Rafael Benitez. Reina, Maggio, Cannavaro, another ex-Madrid man Raul Albiol and Juan Zuniga makes for a very strong and idyllic back line, suitable for both Italian and European competition.

The addition of tricky Belgian winger Dries Mertens from PSV Eindhoven gives Napoli yet more width and creativity, giving an insight into how Benitez will want his team to set up, with either width, central creativity, or both. Rafael Benitez has long been an advocate of the lone striker, as shown by his use of Samuel Et’to at Inter, Fernando Torres at both Chelsea and Liverpool, Djibril Cisse at Liverpool, and a fair few others. It seems unfair to leave out any of Hamsik, Insigne, Callejón, Pandev and Mertens, but at least two of them will probably find themselves on the bench, for the key games at least.

I expect Napoli to utilise either a 4-5-1 or a 4-2-3-1 formation for the most part this season. Rafael Benitez has used both of these formations in the past, and both of them allow for the creative prowess of Hamsik, Callejón and the others to be the ace in Napoli’s metaphorical pack of cards. With the 4-5-1 or maybe 4-4-1-1 option, I expect to see Mertens in the team alongside Callejón  in “the hole” behind Gonzalo Higuain, with Hamsik, Insigne or Pandev taking the final place. However, with Juan Zuniga, one of the most attacking left backs in the game, being likely to be selected regularly, Benitez may decide against another attacking wide man on the left. If the 4-2-3-1 is used, the intelligent Behrami and the energetic Inler will have to hold in central midfield even more, while Hamsik, Callejón and likely Insigne attack.

Whichever formation Benitez uses, he has the almost ideal squad to tinker with. The amount of both central and wide creativity means injuries shouldn’t affect the team’s ability to cause defensive problems for their opponents. The illustrious and experienced defensive line given earlier could make Napoli one of the steeliest defences in Europe, as Benitez often does. The potential of this team is unquestionably high with hungry, determined players galore, ready to unleash themselves on both Serie A and Europe, with Juventus’ crown being the aim for the ever passionate Napoli fans.

Fiorentina: summer overhaul brings new life to club

On the face of it, the decision to finally sell Stefan Jovetic to Manchester City was a risky and potentially backward step for Fiorentina. However, with some very shroud and wise investments, the sale could springboard the Florence based club back into European football’s elite club category.

At this same time last year, Fiorentina were being astutely as well. After a 2011/12 campaign that resulted in a disappointing 13^th place finish, the club knew there were things to be done in order to turn the club around. Borja Valero, Alberto Aquilani and David Pizarro all came in and starred, adding steel and balance to a previously fluctuating and inconsistent team. The team finished the 2012/13 Serie A in 4^th, and although they were 17 points behind league winners Juventus, this was an impressive achievement for the club. In the 2013/14 season, they will be hoping to make a genuine title challenge.

One of the more surprising signings made by Fiorentina over the summer was the deal that saw former AC Milan stalwart Massimo Ambrosini join the club. Despite being aged 36, Ambrosini still has immense technical ability and always uses the ball intelligently. Many teams all over Europe have struggled to balance playing in European competition with quality and consistent league performances, so Ambrosini’s experience could make him the ideal off pitch leader for the Fiorentina as they enter the European football spectrum.

Of course, Fiorentina’s most notable signing this summer has been Mario Gomez. Gomez lost his in the regular Bayern Munich eleven to Croatian striker Mario Mandžukic in the previous season, and the German was clearly not willing to play second fiddle again, especially with the World Cup taking place in under a year’s time. His arrival is quite the coup for Fiorentina, and gives them a world class striker amongst their ranks, and probably one of the best in Serie A. Gomez is a livewire in the box, with precise timing.  

Even more excitingly for Fiorentina is the fact that not all of the £22 million garnered from the sale of Jovetic went on Mario Gomez. The electric pace and creativity of ex Real Betis, Valencia and Málaga man Joaquin (signed on a three year deal), in some respects summarises this Fiorentina team up, experienced and tactically clever under the guidance of 39 year old Vincenzo Montella, but also possessing some youthful exuberance. Their qualification for the Europa League, assuming they make it through their one round of qualifying, helps them attract yet more players, as they have done with Josip Iličić, a man supposedly wanted by both Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, in a deal thought to be just worth around £7.7 million.

Having Iličić, Joaquin, Giuseppe Rossi and new Ukrainian signing Oleksandr Yakovenko and others in an attacking sense, and with Borja Valero, Massimo Ambrosini and Alberto Aquilani providing cover behind them, Fiorentina have an exceptionally well balanced squad. Vincenzo Montella has a great tactical eye, and is learning more and more about being a coach. What Montella has on his hands now with Fiorentina is a squad with a great balance between youth and experience, with pretty much two players worthy of playing in each position, any coach’s dream. The new arrivals could force a tactical overhaul, while the likes of David Pizarro, who handed in a transfer request and then withdrew it, may perhaps need a new role to the one he starred in last year. However, with the experience of Valero, Joaquin, and of course Ambrosini, there should not be any kind of dressing room friction. A young yet respected manager, a whole heap of experienced heads, an exciting array of attacking talents means that for Fiorentina, all the ingredients are there for a season that fans of the Viola can enjoy and be proud of.

The question remains, can this club from Tuscany win their first Serie A in what will be 45 years? Last season, the traditional big guns of Roma, Lazio, Internazionale and AC Milan were way off the pace, as were Fiorentina, as Juventus and Napoli battled away. Although Juventus have bought in Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente, it appears as if their key focus will be the UEFA Champions League, potentially giving a team like Fiorentina a window of real opportunity. Despite the arrival of highly respected former Valencia, Liverpool, Inter and Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez, as well as Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli will almost certainly miss Edinson Cavani, who was comfortably Serie A’s top scorer last season with 29 goals. Both Milan clubs, as well as Roma and Lazio will probably be thinking the same thing; however Fiorentina have more proven players all over the pitch than these clubs.

With such excitement around Fiorentina now, they could well spring a few upsets, as they did last season. It will be difficult to juggle possible Europa League football with consistency in the league, but with the amount of depth and ability to adjust tactically that Fiorentina possess, they are ideally placed to be successful in perhaps both. The ever improving former Manchester City man Stefan Savic, the ever solid and intelligent Borja Valero and the man with some of the best timing in European football Mario Gomez, will all be the spine of a team that are undergoing an exciting new project much like Klopp’s Dortmund team are in the middle of, except under Vincenzo Montella. 

Florent Malouda: Frenchman’s Chelsea stint ends with a whimper

After a very hit and miss six years in West London, Florent Malouda is heading to pastures new at Turkish club Trabzonspor. Here’s a look back at his largely mixed fortunes at Stamford Bridge.

Malouda joined the blues in July 2007 after having enjoyed four impressive seasons at Olympique Lyonnais, in which he won Ligue 1 four times, reached the Champions League quarter finals three times and won the prestigious Ligue 1 player of the season award in 2006-07. Such an impressive season meant a whole heap of the wealthiest and best European clubs would be willing to sign Malouda. Chelsea, who had narrowly missed out on a third successive premier league title the season before,  ended up winning the race, and Malouda signed for a rumoured £13 million.

There was added pressure on Malouda due to the departure of Arjen Robben a few weeks after Malouda signed, with Chelsea desperately needing some creativity and goals from a winger or attacking midfielder to compete with rivals Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who came into his own the year before. Damien Duff and Arjen Robben had been a major factor in Chelsea’s 2004-05 title win, but with both now gone, Malouda and Joe Cole were required to do something similar. Malouda started excellently for Chelsea, with goals against Manchester United in the community shield, and against newly promoted Birmingham City on the Premier league’s opening day. The good start slowly began to fade away however, as Malouda struggled to hold down a place, and when Jose Mourinho left in September, new manager Avram Grant changed things, with Kalou and Cole regularly being selected ahead of Malouda.

A bit part role followed Malouda throughout most of the season, with Malouda not really fitting into Grant’s plans of supporting strikers that played more centrally. Because of this, Malouda was mostly utilised a substitute whenever Chelsea needed more width. The form of Joe Cole also cost Malouda, while the versatile Michael Essien and the almost ever present Frank Lampard, restricted him to only being considered or needed as an option on the wide left. Incredibly, Malouda didn’t score again in the premier league until the season’s penultimate game, a 2-0 away win over Newcastle United. Just the 2 goals in 26 league appearances at Chelsea compared poorly to his 10 goals in 35 games at Lyon.

The 2008-09 season saw the arrival of Luis Felipe Scolari at Chelsea after Avram Grant was dismissed in the aftermath of Chelsea’s heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to Manchester United in the Champions League final in Moscow, a game in which Malouda somewhat surprisingly started. The season began well for Malouda, as he played with confidence and comfort ability, looking far from out of place in the team. However, it wasn’t until the dismissal of Scolari in February due to Chelsea trailing behind Manchester United and Liverpool in the title race , that Malouda really began to come into his own, under interim boss Guus Hiddink. Swiftly, Malouda was becoming one of Chelsea’s key players, scoring the Blues’ first in a 2-1 FA Cup semi -final win over London rivals Arsenal. Malouda started in Chelsea’s extremely controversial Champions League semi-final 1-1 draw and therefore elimination against Barcelona in May, where he was at the centre of an unsuccessful penalty claim, after Barca’s Brazilian full-back Dani Alves appeared to have blocked him off. Chelsea’s season again ended in Champions League heartbreak, but this time Malouda was beginning to show his true creative quality.

The summer of 2009 saw quite the overhaul at Stamford Bridge under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, particularly tactically. The old Chelsea had a reputation of being slightly too defensive, and at times boring. The Italian changed all this, with Chelsea becoming more rampant and energetic, and Malouda playing more centrally in an attacking diamond formation. Heavy score lines including 7-2 and 7-1 wins for Chelsea against Sunderland and Aston Villa respectively, games in which Malouda scored in was a sign of this. Despite being eliminated in the Champions league’s round of 16 by eventual winners Inter Milan, Chelsea had a tremendous season, in which they achieved their first ever domestic double of the League and FA Cup. Malouda’s excellent link-up play with Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Nicolas Anelka, Salomon Kalou, Joe Cole and Ashley Cole, who began to attack more from his left back position, was a major part of this. The Frenchman ended his most successful season in a blue shirt with 15 goals in 51 games, yet more impressively, with 15 assists.

Carlo Ancelotti’s second and final season at the helm was one that bought no trophies, but Malouda was still a key member of the squad. His stats weren’t quite as good, with just the 5 assists and 14 goals in 50 games, but Chelsea were still rampant and free flowing at times, with early season wins against West Bromwich Albion, Wigan and Blackpool springing to mind. However, Malouda’s form was somewhat of a microcosm of Chelsea’s, thriving at the start, worryingly bad at times in the winter, but with an impressive and confident end. Malouda scored Chelsea’s third in a 3-0 home win over West Ham in April, a rocket into the top corner from just outside the penalty box. There was definitely still superb ability there, but it wasn’t quite shown regularly enough.

Andre Villas-Boas was determined to oversee change at Chelsea, and Malouda never really looked like fitting into that change. The young manager bought in creative attacker Juan Mata, who impressed from the start, despite Malouda’s goal in Chelsea’s first home game of the season against West Brom. He appeared in a weakened Chelsea team that was knocked out of the league cup by eventual winners Liverpool, interestingly in a 4-3-3 in the midfield. Malouda was unable to power forward and looked unsure of how to play in a way that would give balance and creativity to the team. Even after the arrival of Roberto Di Matteo to replace Villas-Boas, Malouda didn’t appear much for the blues, other than in matches with less importance towards the end of the season. A contract dispute meant a year in the reserves for Malouda, a year that is now up and Malouda is at Trabzonspor. After a shaky start, Malouda did show the Chelsea faithful his best at times and his key role in the Blues’ first and only ever (to date) domestic double, will never be forgotten. 

Mark Schwarzer and the Chelsea goalkeeping situation

Last week, Chelsea completed a move for 40 year old goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, interestingly on a one year deal. Obviously due to his age, Schwarzer has taken this move as a means of getting one last “hoorah” from his career, after Fulham signed highly rated Dutch goalkeeper Martin Stekelenburg from AS Roma.

Of course it is highly unlikely and unexpected that Schwarzer will take the place of Petr Cech, one of Chelsea’s greatest ever goalkeepers, but he will provide much needed cover.

Ross Turnbull and Henrique Hilario both played in occasional FA cup or league cup games, but neither ever impressed too much when called upon. Hilario had a stint of games shortly after his arrival at the club in the summer of 2006 when both Petr Cech and then back-up Carlo Cudicini had been sidelined due to horrific injuries in the same game against Reading, and he kept a clean sheet against all the odds in one game against the then European Champions FC Barcelona under the management of Frank Riijkard, but there was never any real doubt as to who was the first choice. Ross Turnbull featured briefly in the 2009/10 season when Cech got injured again, but conceding four at home to Manchester City showed Turnbull was not on Cech’s level. With all due respect, Schwarzer is probably better than both Hilario and Turnbull, but on a one year contract, little can be gained from playing him instead of and over Cech.

One must feel slightly sorry or disappointed for Jamal Blackman, Sam Walker and Matej Delac, who are all young goalkeepers at Chelsea, who must have thought the departures of Hilario and Turnbull would give them a chance at cracking into the first team. However, Chelsea’s desperation to replace the two outgoing goalkeepers showed a real lack of trust and almost a dismissal of the players they already have. There were efforts to bring in John Ruddy from Norwich City for £5 or £6 million, but with a one year deal being sought, Chelsea were warned off.

The reason Chelsea were not willing to pay too much or to sign anyone too long term was because of the presence of Thibaut Courtois at the club. The Belgian has been very impressive both domestically on loan as well as for his country, and could well be a great goalkeeper of the future. Chelsea signed the 1 meter 99 centimeter goalkeeper from KRC Genk in the summer of 2011, but he has yet to play for the West London outfit. He is set to spend a third consecutive season in Spain playing for Atletico Madrid, where he helped his adopted club win the 2012/13 Copa Del Rey, with a magnificent performance in the final against Atletico’s city rivals Real Madrid. 

Clearly the upper echelons at Chelsea want to keep Courtois, but they do not want him challenging Cech just yet, as at the moment, both are far too good to be any sort of back-up. Ironically, Cech may eventually be pushed away to make way for Courtois in the same way Cudicini was pushed away to make way for Cech upon his 2004 arrival from Rennes.

Schwarzer proved last season that he still possesses certainly a good enough level of efficiency to put Chelsea in safe enough hands (pun intended) in the case of Cech getting injured or suspended. Despite his ability, Schwarzer is old enough and experienced enough to know the situation with Cech and Courtois for the coming seasons, and will do what he’s asked and required to do before perhaps retiring or maybe returning to Australia to play in the A-League possibly, or maybe another league in Asia or the United States, as so many other winding down players have done in recent years. Certainly, this is a necessary and wise move from Chelsea. 

Can Ancelotti work his magic at Real?

After much success in Italy, England, and most recently France, Carlo Ancelotti is set to embark on arguably his biggest challenge to date: bringing the almighty Real Madrid back to both domestic and European glory. One thing that will give fans of Real the most hope is Ancelotti’s experience in looking after and getting the best out of experienced players, something that was largely responsible for Jose Mourinho’s exit from the club in June.

The first order of business for the Italian will be to unite or rather reunite the dressing room. Talk of factions emerging in the Madrid squad last year plagued their season, with many players including Iker Casillas desperate for Mourinho to leave. Casillas was eventually forced out of the starting XI by Mourinho, but one would have to think Ancelotti will want the Spanish captain back in goal for Madrid, as do the large majority of the fans.

Ancelotti is somewhat of a traditionalist in terms of his defensive tactics. At Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea and PSG he utilised a four man defensive line, but in some respects, he revolutionised the concept of attacking full-backs. Cafu at Milan was solid but also got forward and put crosses in, while Ancelotti favoured Branislav Ivanovic at Chelsea mostly, largely due to Ivanovic’s efficiency at getting forward and back again quickly. Ashley Cole contributed in an attacking sense more than ever in Ancelotti’s first season with the Blues, an element of his game most had questioned before then. When he was forward, Cole’s final ball was often exceptional. At PSG, Jallet and Maxwell in particular added to the side with bursts forward, but Ancelotti made sure they only went forward when there was little chance of them getting caught out. If Ancelotti could possibly mould the likes of Fabio Coentrao, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Alvaro Arbeloa and any other full-backs Madrid may bring in into these types of grafters; Madrid may have the most wide formation and deep squad in world football.

 One of the few positive things in Madrid’s frustrating and disappointing 2012-13 season was the emergence of Raphaël Varane. The 20 year old French centre-back put in some magnificent performances throughout the season, especially in big games, where he neutralised the attacking threats of the likes of Robin van Persie, Didier Drogba, Lionel Messi, Pedro and Carlos Tevez to name just a few. With Varane, Pepe and Sergio Ramos all capable of putting a shift in for Les Meringues, I see no obvious need to bring in another centre half unless one of those mentioned previously leaves.

The midfield formation is harder to predict. The 4-2-3-1 formation appears to be the in thing at the moment, with Mourinho using it at Madrid last season, while Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, at times Manchester United, and a few other top teams all opting to use it. The signing of Isco means Madrid could well have one of the best attacking or creative midfield trios in the world with Mesut Özil, Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria and even José Callejón, (presuming they all stay) possibly playing there. Mourinho opted to play Alonso and Khedira mostly, and sometimes Modric there, but this would mean Madrid would not really be advancing from the Mourinho days. Ancelotti likes to put his stamp on things.

So what can Ancelotti do differently to Mourinho?  A 3-2-4-1 has been suggested by some but that type of defence doesn’t really suit Madrid at the present time. A 4-2-2-2 could also be an option, although it would almost certainly force Madrid into signing another striker. Gonzalo Higuain is being heavily linked with a move away from the Bernabeu, while Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez, even Robert Lewandowski have all been supposedly looked at as possible additions. Alvaro Morata had a sublime UEFA Euro U-21’s tournament, but it is difficult to tell if he is ready to compete and score goals consistently in a team that relies so heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo, and has done for the past four years. With main title rivals FC Barcelona bringing in the electrifying Neymar to play alongside the brilliant Lionel Messi, you get the sense Madrid almost have to bring in a big name centre forward, as Karim Benzema doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of opposing team’s defences in the same way Neymar and Messi do.

Ancelotti has further endeared himself to the notoriously demanding and hard to please Madrid crowd by bringing in club legend Zinedine Zidane to work alongside the Italian. Zidane has spoken out about his desire to see apparent Madrid target Gareth Bale in the iconic white shirt of Madrid, although Tottenham seem determined to keep the Welshman for at least another year. Whoever comes in, whether it be Cavani, Suarez, Bale or anyone else, Ancelotti has shown he can handle and organise a big, quality packed squad. It will be a long pre-season for the two time Champions league winner, as he looks to add La Liga to the already illustrious list of leagues which he has already won. Madrid need unity and dedication as well as ability if they are to surpass FC Barcelona domestically and perhaps finally win that tenth European cup that they have chased for the last eleven years. If anyone can guide them there, Ancelotti can.