Napoli, the importance of McTominay in Conte's chessboard

Naples, 14 March 2025 - Among the neologisms of a football in continuous evolution there is the role of 'tuttocampoista', a concept borrowed from the analogous definition of 'box-to-box' midfielder often used in England and especially in Premier League. It comes from the most prestigious (and richest) championship in the world Scott McTominay, That the Napoli he took this summer from Manchester United for 30,5 million, plus the 10% on the future resale. A significant investment, initially passed a little unnoticed for various reasons. First of all for the timing: the Scotsman landed in the Campania capital almost at the gong of the session, thus getting confused in the cauldron of last minute operations and the first anxieties of a championship that had already begun. Then, of course, the nationality: of the British duo procured by the sporting director John Manna, the excellent one Billy gilmour seemed the most valuable in the tactical chessboard of Antonio Conte. Things would have gone differently: the former Brighton, at least as long as it remained in force 4-3-3, has been obscured by the ever-shining star of certainty Stanislav Lobotka, while the '96 class immediately established himself in the Azzurri midfield, proving to be that precious piece that had been missing in the previous season (and not only).  

The importance of McTominay in Napoli

  In fact, perhaps only the best Piotr Zielinski had guaranteed such a contribution to the Napoli in terms of substance, quality and quantity in both phases of the game, although perhaps lacking in terms of personality. Well, in this respect there is very little to reproach McTominay, who in the shadow of Vesuvius immediately established himself as an excellent attacker in the opponent's area, as well demonstrated by the 7 goals collected in season so far (6 in Serie A e 1 in Coppa Italia). If then there is a pivot like Romelu Lukaku, the mission becomes even easier: the Belgian finishes, of course, but so does the Scot, who for the moment has also bagged 4 assists. Important numbers, which however do not do justice to all that it does and what it means today McTominay in that Napoli second in the standings, just 1 point dall 'Inter, who in the next round even dreams of overtaking. The primary condition will be to beat the Venice and who knows, maybe a more complicated matter than the gap in the standings between the two teams suggests will be resolved again by McTominay, who also had a hand in the victory against Fiorentina which allowed the Neapolitans to end their long drought of successes and to stay in the wake of the league leaders, who in the evening of the next round will be a guest of theAtalanta. It was the number 8 who had fired the not irresistible right-footed shot that would have caused problems David De Gea, one of the best goalkeepers in the league: Lukaku thanks the goalkeeper and his teammate and opens a match that could have taken on very different connotations. However, reducing the performance of McTominay a 'simple' rather limp shot does not do justice to a player who showed up on Sunday afternoon Fuorigrotta even with a muscle ailment, which his fans and opponents would only notice in the final minutes of the match. In reality, there are many facets of McTominay that escape most people. Among them there is first of all his position on the pitch which, according to the 'heat maps' so in vogue, oscillates between a midfielder, a mezzala and even an almost fake winger good at composing with the two strikers (or with the real full-back of the role) used today by Tale a virtual triangle that, if closed, creates a lot of problems for the opposing defenses. Then, you find the same player in your area to patch up the holes that even the 3-5-2 leave: he knows something about it Dear Ndour, knocked out (by fair means or foul) by a shoulder charge on the edge of the former United, one of the Azzurri players to have maintained a consistent performance regardless of the module used by his coach.

Meret's statements

  Aside from the clearly different role on the field, the same goes for Alex Meret, who spoke to the official channels of the Neapolitan club today to talk about himself, leaving the fans with some nice curiosities about him and to get to know him even better, but also to talk about his experience in blue, between past, present and future. We start from the most beautiful save and the strongest attackers faced, in addition to his idols. "I like to think that it's the one I still have to do, but I would say the penalty neutralized at Paulo Dybala which allowed us to win the Coppa Italia, which was certainly the most important. Among the attackers, those who impressed me the most were Gonzalo Higuain e Cristiano Ronaldo, while among my models I mention Dino zoff e Gigi Buffon, who is an idol for all my peers and to whom I would never compare myself. He made me fall in love with this role and I was lucky enough to know him and train with him in National and I tried to steal some secrets, as I do with all the goalkeepers I respect". We then move on to the memories of the championship. "The party at Udine It's definitely my favorite moment: I was born there, my family was there and it was a beautiful day". Who knows, maybe the emotion can be relived this year thanks to the great work of Tale. "I like everything about him. Since he arrived he has increased the pace of training, increasing the intensity in a group where everyone sacrifices themselves. The training is hard, but he lets you make mistakes and try again until you succeed. Physically and mentally it is tiring, but it increases your self-confidence and also - he concludes Meret - keeps you focused throughout the week, ensuring that the tension never drops."

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