Re: Rafa Benitez the new manager of Napoli

by flameas Thu Dec 12, 2013 12:10 pm

De Laurentis is just arrogant and stupid. I think I would mean a world to the Napoli fans if they would win the EL. I mean they got to be realistic - its better to win the EL rather than crash our in the 1/16 round of CL. Maybe not financially, but when was the last time Napoli won something meaningful? (coppa italia doesnt count)

by McLewis Thu Dec 12, 2013 12:16 pm

I don't disagree honestly from a footballing perspective, but the man looks at his bottom line and he runs the club like a business. Exhausting resources in a competition that offers little to no financial benefit is just not cost-effective.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Thu Dec 12, 2013 2:36 pm

Natalie Portman wrote:The sole reason Napoli didn't qualify was missing like32904823904u23 chances vs BVB back in September and then scoring that ridiculous own goal in the end to win 2-1 instead of 2-0.

Zuniga costing Napoli 30 million Euros

Any team in Europe can say this( well of decent standard).... Hell if Dortmund took the chances they create they would win every game they play Laughing

Shoulda coulda woulda.....

Feel sorry for Rafa though, he deserved to qualify and if he got any other group he would have done.

by zizzle Thu Dec 12, 2013 3:08 pm

What De Laurentis said is that the EL is a waste of time only if you go there directly at the beginning of the season. But by saying "you can combine the two competitions to put together decent revenue" he probably means that they will take it seriously and make some more money in addition to the CL money they already made. That makes sense because Napoli will not have to play any meaningless EL games and go strait through to the knockouts.

by Swanhends Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:05 pm

Its easy to shit on De Laurentis for looking at the bottom line... but considering Napoli was in Serie C1 as recently as 2006 and have now qualified for CL in 2 of the last 3 seasons and are the 15th most valuable club in the world, I'd say he knows what he's doing

by Robespierre Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:34 pm

it's funny to think how some Italian top clubs ( Inter,Juve and of course the Napoli ) contend for Zuniga this summer ( his previous contract ended in June of 2014) ...

in the end the Napoli CONVINCED Zuniga to renew the contract until 2017 for 3.5 mln every year (price out of proportion to his income ) Proud

Far-seeing Proud

by BarrileteCosmico Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:08 pm

Swanhends wrote:Its easy to shit on De Laurentis for looking at the bottom line... but considering Napoli was in Serie C1 as recently as 2006 and have now qualified for CL in 2 of the last 3 seasons and are the 15th most valuable club in the world, I'd say he knows what he's doing

While I agree with this having a good EL campaign would increase their coefficient and possibly move them into Pot 2 so they can avoid future groups of death, so revenue is not the only consideration that they should take into account.

by BarrileteCosmico Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:10 pm

Robespierre wrote:it's funny to think how some Italian top clubs ( Inter,Juve and of course the Napoli ) contend for Zuniga this summer ( his previous contract ended in June of 2014) ...

in the end the Napoli CONVINCED Zuniga to renew the contract until 2017 for 3.5 mln every year (price out of proportion to his income )
Far-seeing

Zuniga is a great WB and for Mazzari's 5-3-2 he was an integral piece. Now that Benitez came along he plays 4-2-3-1 and his defensive failures are more noticeable, but he's still a huge improvement over Armero. Had Zuniga been fit vs Dortmund they might have qualified from the group since Armero was their undoing in that match and they were only 1 goal short.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:14 pm

You should always look to win trophies IMO.

Especially for a club like Napoli which have hardly won loads in their history.... they are in no position to treat it like yesterdays dinner.

Besides they are not going to win the league if they don't bother taking EL seriously and they are not going to finish outside of top 3 if they take it seriously.

I fail to see the outcome where you take it seriously and it seriously effects your season.

Its quite sad that people will defend finishing 3rd over winning a trophy.

Inb4 spoilt fans say its a mickey mouse trophy and not worth the time.

by BarrileteCosmico Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:16 pm

Mole the problem is depth, not that the EL is not important. Napoli have none. So if you only have finite resources, wouldn't you rather your team compete for the league/CL finish and use all the CL revenue to improve your team?

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:19 pm

Oh and Inter, Fiorentina and Milan have fantastically deep squads i suppose?

Its an easy cop out, but not one which actually is an excuse for dropping form....

To answer your question no i wouldn't.... i'd rather finish 17th and win the EL and than finish 2nd and win nothing.

by BarrileteCosmico Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:24 pm

As a supporter, sure, but as the owner or coach? That's what makes Di Laurentis such a boss, his mind is always on the long term goals rather than the short term gains. If you finish 17th you can't attract top players or afford their contracts/transfer fees. Napoli's goal is to win SA and it makes the most amount of sense to put their resources into doing that. EL is simply not worth it for them if they skip out on CL revenue.

UEFA should just give the EL winner an automatic CL spot.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:29 pm

Long term goals like winning nothing and gaining marginal profits?

Such fantastic goals they are, its quite sad that this is the world we live in.

by BarrileteCosmico Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:34 pm

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Long term goals like winning nothing and gaining marginal profits?

Such fantastic goals they are, its quite sad that this is the world we live in.

BarrileteCosmico wrote: Napoli's goal is to win SA and it makes the most amount of sense to put their resources into doing that.

by Robespierre Thu Dec 12, 2013 7:21 pm

the Europe League doesn't have the same importance than old Coppa Uefa ,it is clear, but it's always a European cup ... and if you are the Napoli , who has won little or nothing and it happened only because you had Diego Armando Maradona ... it's ridicolous to snob it

This year Napoli can really win it,
There are favorable conditions difficult to find in future , if we consider the geneal level , a coach used to play high European levels (last winner) , players as Reina,Albiol,Callejon, Higuain who have more experience than last players ... and then the final to Juve's stadium, Juve's stadium ... the club more hated from Napoli fans ... it can be something of Amazing ..

but there's the "problem" De Laurentiis , De Laurentis care only to balance the budget, he considers it a tax (textual words) , the depth is a pretext substantially ...

then this year Napoli will not fight to win the Serie A and for me the 3rd place is safe ( I don't think Inter,Fiorentina and other will be a danger)

therefore Napoli : CARPE DIEM .

by Robespierre Thu Dec 12, 2013 7:27 pm

BarrileteCosmico wrote:
Robespierre wrote:it's funny to think how some Italian top clubs ( Inter,Juve and of course the Napoli ) contend for Zuniga this summer ( his previous contract ended in June of 2014) ...

in the end the Napoli CONVINCED Zuniga to renew the contract until 2017 for 3.5 mln every year (price out of proportion to his income )
Far-seeing
Zuniga is a great WB and for Mazzari's 5-3-2 he was an integral piece. Now that Benitez came along he plays 4-2-3-1 and his defensive failures are more noticeable, but he's still a huge improvement over Armero. Had Zuniga been fit vs Dortmund they might have qualified from the group since Armero was their undoing in that match and they were only 1 goal short.

It is a fact that he doesn't deserve to earn 3.5 + bonus every year (7 gross) ....
if really he wants them to earn, learn how to defende also.

by Helmer Thu Dec 12, 2013 8:20 pm

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Oh and Inter, Fiorentina and Milan have fantastically deep squads i suppose?

Its an easy cop out, but not one which actually is an excuse for dropping form....

To answer your question no i wouldn't.... i'd rather finish 17th and win the EL and than finish 2nd and win nothing.

17th seems far fetched but agree dere abs

by Helmer Thu Dec 12, 2013 8:23 pm

But with coeff strategy, if they get put in pot 2, it will certainly increase their chances to get eve higher revenue because probably they will go little more far than what they did now :coffee:

by danyjr Sat Dec 21, 2013 10:06 pm

Goal.com wrote:Benitez: I have changed Napoli's mentality

The 53-year-old reflected positively on his first six months in charge - but believes there is even more to come from his team in 2014
Napoli boss Rafael Benitez believes he has changed the club's mentality since taking over as coach at San Paolo in the summer.

The Partenopei currently sit third in Serie A – eight points behind leaders Juventus - after 16 matches and narrowly missed out on qualification to the Champions League knockout stages in a group which included Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's game away to Cagliari, Benitez says he has been impressed with the way his new squad have performed to date in his first campaign in charge.

He told reporters: "The balance of these six months at Napoli has to be considered very positive both in the way we have evolved and with what has been achieved.

"As well as the results, I am very happy because I have managed to change the mentality of the squad. Now a draw is not good enough for us and we always aspire to much more.

"I am also convinced that the coming year will be even better than this one has been.

"I would like to thank all Neapolitan fans for the affection and warmth that I have felt."

Benitez expects a difficult challenge against Cagliari, who have only lost once in eight home matches in Serie A this season.

"Like all the games this will be difficult and complicated," added the former Liverpool and Chelsea manager.

"We have prepared to face it with the maximum intensity. The key word for me is balance. I am not hugely concerned about the amount of goals we score - it is the final results that are the difference."

Such an arrogant scumbag this guy is. He overrates himself so much. Spent more than Mazzarri ever had an hasn't done anything to prove his team is better than Don Walter's.

by DeletedUser#1 Sat Dec 21, 2013 10:09 pm

danyjr wrote:
Goal.com wrote:Benitez: I have changed Napoli's mentality

The 53-year-old reflected positively on his first six months in charge - but believes there is even more to come from his team in 2014
Napoli boss Rafael Benitez believes he has changed the club's mentality since taking over as coach at San Paolo in the summer.

The Partenopei currently sit third in Serie A – eight points behind leaders Juventus - after 16 matches and narrowly missed out on qualification to the Champions League knockout stages in a group which included Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's game away to Cagliari, Benitez says he has been impressed with the way his new squad have performed to date in his first campaign in charge.

He told reporters: "The balance of these six months at Napoli has to be considered very positive both in the way we have evolved and with what has been achieved.

"As well as the results, I am very happy because I have managed to change the mentality of the squad. Now a draw is not good enough for us and we always aspire to much more.

"I am also convinced that the coming year will be even better than this one has been.

"I would like to thank all Neapolitan fans for the affection and warmth that I have felt."

Benitez expects a difficult challenge against Cagliari, who have only lost once in eight home matches in Serie A this season.

"Like all the games this will be difficult and complicated," added the former Liverpool and Chelsea manager.

"We have prepared to face it with the maximum intensity. The key word for me is balance. I am not hugely concerned about the amount of goals we score - it is the final results that are the difference."

Such an arrogant scumbag this guy is. He overrates himself so much. Spent more than Mazzarri ever had an hasn't done anything to prove his team is better than Don Walter's.

If anything, it's You who is being terrible human being insulting the great man, without knowing him personally. He is anything, but a scumbag as a human being.

Yea..he spent, but sold the club's best player in a decade. He did significantly better than Mazzari in Europe, and will likely boost Napoli's UEFA Coefficents in EL, which will avoid them being in pot 4, and hence group of death in the coming years. You know, not losing 4-0 to Viktoria Plzen.

They were expected to come 2nd in the league at the start of the season, and that'll probably happen in the end anyways. (They are on course of that anyways).

And yea, I would have been confident of my abilities too, if I had won everything that is there to be won as a manager smoking

by danyjr Sat Dec 21, 2013 10:27 pm

Such a great man? Laughing

A great man is thankful when he takes over a perfectly functioning team and doesn't belittle former managers' work by saying things like "I have changed Napoli". No, he ain't done anything significant brah, other than spending €90 million. And overpaying for Madrid rejects like Albiol and Callejón.

I don't underrate Benítez, I think he is a good manager but he is extremely arrogant and that is the point of the post.

by BarrileteCosmico Sat Dec 21, 2013 11:48 pm

Ironic he said that today when Napoli drew Laughing

Also dany Mazzari could've never gotten the results Benitez did vs Dortmund and Arsenal, his 5-3-2 would have gotten abused by both teams.

by McLewis Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:32 am

It remains to be seen whether he has truly changed Napoli's mentality so I don't think I can agree with his comments.

They did just drop points against Cagliari today after all.

Tactically though, he has indeed revitalized them. They showed that against Inter last weekend.

by BarrileteCosmico Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:36 am

In fairness Callejon scored a goal that only God knows why it was ruled offside.

by McLewis Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:46 am

Yeah I noticed that. Pitch was terrible as well, but at the end of the day...they had more than enough to put Cag away and didn't for some reason.

Shades of Roma in this match today.

by Kaladin Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:50 am

Still, Napoli's recent form isn't enough to convince me that they'll finish 2nd. 2 wins, 2 draws, 2 defeats in the last 6 isn't going to cut it, potentially 10 points behind tomorrow. Juve and Roma will have the top 2 spots on lockdown. Napoli will settle for 3rd imo.

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