Naples, Garcia’s mistakes

That thin thread that still held Rudi Garcia together with Napoli is about to break. The defeat against Empoli exacerbates an already worn-out relationship between the coach and all the components: team, ownership, environment. There are many aspects in which he was not convincing and could lead to his dismissal in the next few hours. It’s true that the city still looks nostalgically at Luciano Spalletti and the feat of the third scudetto in the club’s history, the Frenchman on the other hand hasn’t been able to make himself appreciated for what he saw on the pitch.

changes under accusation

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The first complaints came about the changes made during the races. In turn Kvaratskhelia, Osimhen and Politano, the team’s offensive trident, had disorganized reactions because they were replaced in delicate phases of the matches: the Georgian complained against Genoa, the center forward against Bologna, Politano against Fiorentina. Three matches that Napoli did not win, probably reducing the chances of achieving the result by excluding their best players. In general, the team too often finds itself making mistakes in its approaches to matches. This is demonstrated by the fact that he only ended the first half ahead on seven occasions out of sixteen, not to mention his terrible performance at Maradona where there were four defeats in eight matches.

the game

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But Garcia ended up in the dock above all for his express play. This year’s Napoli really looks like a faded copy of last season’s perfect machine. The defensive phase is precarious: only five times have the Azzurri not conceded a goal, although Kim’s absence certainly weighs. The midfield has lost clarity: Lobotka tries to make up for the wrong distances between the departments as best he can, Anguissa is not in the best conditions. It is clear that if the development of the maneuver in the opponent’s half of the field is stale, we can only rely on the flashes of Kvaratskhelia and Politano, also considering the absence of Osimhen.

physicist

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Yet, in front of the cameras, Rudi Garcia has always tried to minimize Napoli’s mistakes. A strategy that he supported at the start of the season in which the team was actually first in terms of attempted shots and ball possession, while conceding – at least in statistical terms – very little. But all the critical issues quickly emerged. The value of the squad allowed the Azzurri to win successes against capable opponents, while tactically it proved lacking and this was not lost on De Laurentiis. In such a context, it should be added that the players do not seem to enjoy good athletic fitness. An example is the match against Union Berlin, fresh from twelve consecutive defeats, who risked snatching three points from Fuorigrotta simply by going to double their opponents and too easily occupying the spaces left empty by approximate preventive marking. Also for this reason, in recent days the president had asked the coach to use the available resources more wisely. The choice to do without Kvaratskhelia and Zielinski from the first minute against Empoli can also be read in this way. But the result says everything about the goodness of this decision too.