Napoli, Coppa Italia Round of 16 Taboo: From Conte's Choices to the Reserves' Flop

Naples, 6 December 2024 – For some it is a curse, for others perhaps almost a relief: for the fourth time in a row il Napoli abandon the path in Coppa Italia in the round of 32, but this time it does so after having already started the journey in the XNUMXnd round. At the time, at the beginning of the season of reconstruction after the rubble left by the post-scudetto disaster, in the absence of European competitions the national one had become a priority to try to immediately relaunch a project that had ended in misery after having reached the highest point. In the space of a few months everything changes: surprisingly, the Azzurri immediately play the lion's share in the championship, quickly establishing themselves as the sole leaders of the standings, although closely followed by a large group of pursuers. In these cases, as is known, as a widespread bad habit, the Coppa Italia it almost becomes an obstacle: that same Coppa Italia which instead, in the absence of other objectives, turns into the lifeline of entire seasons. Not even the Napoli is an exception to this way of thinking, rooted in the square but perhaps also in some component of society. In the middle of these two positions there is probably Antonio Conte, that to the microphones after the challenge who handed over the quarters to the Lazio, which will find one among Inter e Udinese, defended his choices, banishing the malicious thought of an almost sought-after elimination by his players: at the same time, however, he did not deny the desire to experiment and rotate the protagonists on the pitch, to cement a group that otherwise risks crumbling but also to take its pulse, delivering to the company the report of the evaluations in view of the January market. And, thinking about the performance of theOlympic, the impression is that very few units achieved a passing grade.

Taboo eighths

Whether wanted or not, the fact is that once again the Napoli, reached the round of 16 of Coppa Italia, cashes in on an elimination. Completing the cursed poker is the Lazio, while opening it, in the 2021-2022 season, had been there Fiorentina: then it was the turn of the Cremonese, relegated at the end of the year while the Azzurri would have celebrated the championship, before the Frosinone executioner last year with a sensational 4-0 al Maradona to crown (so to speak) a disaster that would have also spread to the championship. This year, in Serie A, the music is very different thanks to a team that has emerged strengthened from the summer market, in the sign of good 150 million spent only on the player cards, and on the hand of Tale, which by his own admission he wanted to rebuild from scratch trying to lay the foundations on the mentality, the most important prerogative to shape a lasting project. What happened yesterday at theOlympic, however, seems to clash a bit with this diktat of the Salento coach, already a divinity for the square despite his previous experiences in black and white. The same Tale, among other things, who since the summer has repeatedly complained about the absence of the Napoli in Cups: a significant gap in terms of preparation, to the point of confessing in a press conference that he had even thought about organising international friendlies during the week. Then comes the real midweek commitment and the Napoli presents itself to you in version B in its entirety: rather than a turnover, we can easily speak of a real revolution. Or of experimentation to understand who can continue to give their contribution to the team that found itself in first place in the standings in a way that was both deserved and unexpected. The verdict, at least that of theOlympic, was merciless, with the same Tale who did not hide her thoughts and afterthoughts, thanking those in charge for not having paid a heavy price for injuries so far: a concept that not all the pursuers can affirm.

The Count thought

In short, may Lady Luck have smiled often on you this year Napoli It is a peaceful concept, as is the one that sees the aforementioned fortune always go to the most daring and deserving. Having had the courage to heavily tackle the market, leaving aside for once the corporate priorities linked to healthy finances and disavowing most of the choices previously made, has projected the Azzurri into a dimension dear to the gods of football, who in their own way had tried to lend a hand even on an evening that was not approached in the best way since the dressing room choices. As has already happened, in more or less recent times, to other protagonists, Mattia Zaccagni 'chooses' the Napoli to miss his first penalty in his career: a positive sliding doors that however Tijjani Noslin erase with three strokes of the sponge which confirm the qualification of his team to the quarter-finals. And the elimination of the Azzurri, who from now on will be able to concentrate exclusively on the championship, for a choice, considered or not, wanted or not, that in the headquarters of Castel Volturno it is not unheard of. There is no shortage of precedents and they have not always been right, because if ultimately winning helps to win, the opposite is also true: even more so if, as per Tale thought, the goal is to build a long-term winning mindset. In Tale but the thought also includes the reliance on a hard core of the team: the so-called first team players, to be protected and defended with the hope declared in no uncertain terms that no one gets hurt. Especially if in the meantime from the back the so-called second lines do not seem to provide the necessary guarantees. Perhaps they are the main losers of the evening of theOlympic. From James Raspadori a Rafa Marin, Via Juan Jesus e Alessio zerbin: there are many Azzurri who have badly exploited the opportunity offered to them, by grace received or by necessity, by Tale, which in turn sent a message to the club, perhaps called upon in January to open the purse strings again to further raise the quality level of the squad. All this despite the fact that there is now only one competition at stake.

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