Naples, Raspadori the man of providence. But with the shadow of the market

Naples, 30 December 2024 – Even the Napoli has its own 'Mr. Wolf': just like the character in the famous film 'Pulp fiction', directed by Quentin Tarantino, James Raspadori solves problems and often does so despite the very few minutes granted on the green rectangle. It had happened several times in the championship season, to the point of rightfully entering the highlights of the salient moments, and it happened yesterday against Venice, a more complicated match than expected for the Azzurri despite the wise warnings on the eve in a press conference by Antonio Conte, in turn alerted by what he saw against Inter e Juventus. In fact, the lagoon dwellers also at Maradona they show up with the most insidious outfit, the one that can become a trap for the big one on duty. If then Filip stankovic decides to wear the superhero cape and block everything that comes his way, especially those signed by Romelu Lukaku, then the victory operation becomes even more complicated. At least until the joker enters the field Breakers, who with a three-point shot launches the Napoli at the top of the rankings together withAtalanta: a great way to close a 2024 clearly split in two for the entire team and for most of its protagonists.

The Man of Providence

It is impossible to forget the disastrous first part, the one lived with the tricolour sewn on the chest but concluded in a very modest tenth place. Then on the bench of Fuorigrotta has arrived Tale and everything has changed: the heroes of the Scudetto have been reborn and the new arrivals from the market, paid in full, are worth 150 million, have more or less all added their own brick to the cause, albeit with different times, rhythms and speeds. There is a constant between these two geological eras, so close but also so far away, and it is Breakers, a reserve practically since his arrival in the Campania capital. Of course, thanks to the temporary absences of the holders on duty or some tactical experiment launched from time to time, there have been moments in which the 2000 class seemed ready to launch something more. Instead no: every time someone, from outside or already present at Castel Volturno, stole the scene from the former golden boy of Italian football, who like most of the players awarded this label is first launched into the air and then made to land without a parachute. It happens that while some of the regulars are forgiven for more than one mistake, for Breakers every supposed flop becomes a failed exam, to be punished with another long stint on the bench. The same Breakers but when he enters the field, he knows how to be more decisive than someone who perhaps entered the green rectangle as a starter. In economics, we would talk about the relationship between time and performance: looking at the data of this season, in 501 ' spent on the field and spread out in 12 attendance, the native of Bentivoglio has signed 1 assists and, indeed, 1 goal, yesterday's one with an enormous specific weight. Despite a pinch of bad luck, especially when there was Lukaku, many have already labeled that on Venice the classic victory 'alla Tale': by measure, built in the second half and without overdoing the game and sublimated by some intelligent moves from the bench. It may or may not be like this: the fact is that the Napoli wins again and goes up to 41 points, hooking theAtalanta in first place (net of the games less than the rivals, Inter first and foremost) and giving yourself a closing of 2024 with a bang that was anything but predictable, if you think about how the year and this season had started.

Bargaining piece in January?

In short, the man of providence Breakers once again he does his duty, confirming himself as a lethal factor during the match: a role that in football, especially when the mechanism jams for once, can also be very thankless. Hence the desire of the person directly concerned, made explicit a few weeks ago to the microphones of the official channels of the National, to start not being satisfied with the so-called crumbs anymore, and therefore go hunting for a role more congenial to a talented player, young but no longer very young. The same Napoli, perhaps on the instructions of the same Tale, the man who took over the reins of the headquarters in June Castel Volturno, he doesn't seem to consider the ex anymore Sassuolo an immovable element of the project, preferring to see it as a very useful bargaining chip. In fact, the scenario that seemed to be taking shape even for this January session was precisely this: Breakers inserted in a negotiation to amortize the costs. The hypotheses of destination on the table at the moment are, or perhaps were, two: la Juventus to get to Danilo and Rome to give yourself a treat Lorenzo Pellegrini. In football, however, as we know, everything changes at the speed of light and it happens that a goal can overturn a scenario that seemed already written. Thus showing the door to the man of providence, capable of breaking the spell of a dominated but bewitched match (25 shots, including penalty, against 4, possession of the ball 67%, 75% in the first half only, 35 crosses e 14 corner), could be one of those moves that, at least according to the fears of Tale, could weaken the team in January. With the risk, to add insult to injury, of even strengthening some direct competitors. As time goes by, perhaps even beyond yesterday's goal, the impression is that the only element really likely to leave the Campania capital midway through the season is Cyril Ngonge, who if you look closely, was already one step away from taking off the blue jersey this summer. For the others, any unresolved or pending issues will be postponed until the end of the season, with the knowledge that in the meantime everything could change, in one direction or another. Especially when there is Breakers, the man of providence.

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