“It’s not the coach’s fault!”
Napoli won the Serie A title last season. This season, they are struggling.
On Sept. 9 (ET), Napoli lost 1-0 against Fiorentina in the eighth round of Serie A at the Stadio Diego Maradona in Naples, Italy. Napoli dropped to fifth place.
On the 10th, Forbes magazine declared, “Napoli’s slump is not Rudi Garcia’s fault.
Napoli underwent a major overhaul shortly after winning the title last season. They sold Kim Min-jae to Bayern Munich and replaced coach Luciano Spalletti. Rudi Garcia is the new head coach.
Napoli already had two defeats in eight league games. Garcia was threatened with dismissal, but it didn’t materialize. However, it’s still a crisis.
As the outlet notes, “Garcia has made many mistakes this season. He substituted key duo Victor Osimhen and Hvitsa Hvarachelia late in the game and didn’t play left-back Mario Rui, who was a key player in the championship.
However, “the blame does not lie solely with Garcia. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is also to blame. Napoli lost Kim Min-jae, but they didn’t handle it well. They brought in Natan, a 22-year-old rookie center back, but he’s not at the level of Kim Min-jae.
Kim Min-jae’s absence is key to Napoli’s struggles
Last season, Kim Min-jae was an iron wall. He was the heart of Napoli’s center back line. He formed an exquisite center-back duo with Rahmani, and his defensive width made him a perfect trump card for opposing counterattacks.
Napoli’s first and second lines would confidently press forward, and Kim Min-jae would be the “iron wall” against the occasional counterattack.
However, this season, Napoli have often been caught on the counterattack. The absence of Kim Min-jae is painfully obvious. Napoli were forced to sell Kim to 토토 Bayern Munich. However, there was no suitable replacement. They couldn’t get a proven center back and ended up taking a risk by bringing in a ‘new’ center back. While coach Rudi Garcia is to blame, Napoli’s struggles are basically due to a weak defense. The key is the absence of Kim Min-jae.