Struggling Napoli meet Fiorentina in the Supercoppa semi-final on Thursday and Stephen Kasiewicz feels it is the only realistic target the Partenopei can play for this season.
When Napoli began their title defence the Supercoppa Italiana was an afterthought rather than an objective.
Now it’s the Neapolitan club’s only realistic opportunity to claim a trophy in a substandard campaign littered with poor results and off-the-field controversy.
From a magnificent third Scudetto the champions have ungraciously fallen to eighth place in the standings and sit an incredible 20 points adrift of leaders Inter. Any lingering possibility of a fourth Serie A success vanished weeks ago.
Dumped out of the Coppa Italia by Frosinone the Partenopei face Spanish heavyweights Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16 next month.
In a wildly unpredictable term, it’s not unfeasible that Napoli could progress against the Catalan giants, but their chances of winning the ultimate European prize are slim to none.
While securing a place in next year’s newly restructured and lucrative edition of the Champions League is the ultimate objective, there is silverware to be won in Saudi Arabia.
The reigning league champions take on Fiorentina in the new cash-laden Supercoppa Italiana mini-tournament on Thursday in Riyadh, with the winners meeting Inter or Lazio in the final.
While the cup competition is not exactly a mouthwatering prospect for a Napoli support left aghast and bamboozled at the club’s indifferent form it could represent a turning point this season.
Amir Rrahmani’s late winner against Salernitana broke a winless streak of three games and, if nothing else, acted as an emotional release for a beleaguered squad. It’s been a galling comedown from the glory of claiming an utterly dominant championship victory in an unforgettable 2022-2023 season.
The double departure of title-winning coach Luciano Spalletti and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli left Napoli rudderless before the campaign kicked off.
President Aurelio De Laurentiis attempted to steady the ship by inexplicably hiring Rudi Garcia.
The Frenchman’s tenure was a failure waiting to happen. While a poor summer recruitment drive didn’t help matters Garcia immediately caused divisions and angered the star duo of Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Mazzarri: ‘Napoli had lost a little confidence, victory did us good’
Unfamiliar with the squad, the former Roma tactician had no clear strategy, and made strange team selections and substitutions. Deficiencies in defence were ruthlessly exposed as Lazio claimed victory at Stadio Diego Maradona in the third round of fixtures after opening wins against Frosinone and Sassuolo.
The gaping void left by the loss of defensive colossus Kim Min-jae proved to be a major Achilles’ heel as the situation deteriorated rapidly.
Incoherent, confused, and frustrated, the players who won the Scudetto at a canter almost wholly lost their sparkle. Rrahmani and Juan Jesus were frequently exposed as Stanislav Lobotka and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa couldn’t clog the gaps in midfield. New Brazilian central defender Natan wasn’t ready to become a regular while Jens Cajuste and Jesper Lindstrom made next to no impact at all. Even the club’s star duo lacked the charisma which cast a spell on Serie A the previous term.
Kvaratskhelia was incensed as Garcia replaced him late on as Napoli drew 2-2 at Genoa. Osimhen visibly questioned the coach’s approach after being hauled off as the Partenopei recorded a goalless draw at Bologna.
The Nigerian missed a penalty in the defeat but worse was to follow.
Bizarre official club social media posts appeared to mock the star striker’s spot-kick failure creating unnecessary agitation and unwanted publicity for last season’s Capocannoniere.
Although thumping victories over Udinese and Lecce somewhat papered over the cracks, Garcia’s time in charge slowly wound down to a complete halt.
Ripped apart in a woeful 3-1 home reversal to Fiorentina on matchday eight Garcia’s position looked increasingly unstable.
Although the Frenchman guided Napoli to the brink of the Champions League knock-out stages it wasn’t enough to safeguard his job.
A rousing comeback earned the Partenopei a morale-boosting point as Milan ran riot in a lopsided first half in a scintillating 2-2 stalemate at home in late October 2023. Yet it was all over for Garcia as lowly Empoli dramatically snatched a late winner in front of a stunned home crowd in the 12th round of fixtures.
Former coach Walter Mazzarri was brought in as a stopgap to stem the tide until the season’s end. Yet Napoli’s descent down the classifica intensified despite a promising opening victory at Atalanta.
Title favourites Inter silenced Stadio Diego Maradona as they registered an empathic three-goal win, and a week later, Gli Azzurri fell to defeat at Juventus.
Any thought of a title repeat ended as Napoli fell to fifth in the table.
Mazzarri did oversee a two-goal triumph over Braga as the Neapolitan club advanced out of the Champions League group stages.
Osimhen scored and laid on a world-class fantasy football assist to Kvaratskhelia as the stellar pair combined to down Cagliari in mid-December last year.
Yet it all unravelled as veteran Mazzarri couldn’t organise or motivate a side that buckled under even the slightest pressure. A largely second-string Napoli were unceremoniously bundled out of the Coppa Italia as Frosinone plundered four second-half goals on a night to forget for the normally reliable captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
A combative Roma aggressively ground out a two-goal win as Matteo Politano – one of the few to consistently shine in the early part of the campaign -, and Osimhen were sent off.
Napoli couldn’t find a way beyond an obdurate Monza as they dropped to seventh after a dismal home stalemate and were thrashed 3-0 after meekly submitting at Torino earlier this month. The calls for Mazzarri’s dismissal grew in the aftermath of the Toro humiliation as the 62-year-old proved to be an even worse appointment than Garcia.
With few realistic options to replace him, the experienced tactician was still in charge as the last-gasp win over Salernitana gave the squad a much-needed confidence boost before flying out to Saudi Arabia.
Of all the trophies on offer, the Supercoppa Italiana is the least coveted.
Even if Napoli emerge victorious it won’t appease Tifosi who were left reeling by the perplexing decisions of De Laurentiis and mediocre displays of players that created history last term. Yet it could be the only high point in a nightmarish campaign of missteps and misdirection which few will remember with any fondness.