What’s next in store for Napoli?

Napoli’s main objective this season was to finish in a high position in the league standings and improve on last year’s sixth-place finish.

Walter Mazzarri’s side have al-ready achieved that goal.

In fact, with three matches to go, Napoli are sure of making a top-four finish to guarantee themselves of a first showing in the Champions League since 1990.

For some ambitious teams, a top-four placing is something of a routine but putting things into perspective this is a truly remarkable achievement for Napoli as one should remember that only as recently as August 2004, they were in Serie C with debts estimated at €70 million.

Film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis re-founded the club and since then Napoli’s ascendency slowly started to gain momentum.

Edy Reja, now coach at Lazio, was the mastermind behind Napoli’s rise from the third division and with Mazzarri around Napoli became a force to reckon with in Serie A.

In between, De Laurentiis had engaged Roberto Donadoni as Reja’s successor. He was handed the task of taking Napoli to the next level. However, his stint at the San Paolo was short and unsuccessful.

Indeed, his sacking in October 2009 came as no surprise.

Napoli are currently nine points clear of fifth-placed Roma and Udinese, making their participation in next season’s Champions League a sure thing thanks to better results in head-to-head records.

Their last three fixtures include away trips to Lecce and Juve and a home match against Inter in what promises to be a crunching clash that may decide who will take the runners-up spot behind Milan.

Now, the obvious question that follows is... what lies ahead for Napoli? Was this a mere fluke or a stepping stone for something bigger and, perhaps, more prestigious?

It is a known fact that for clubs operating on a restricted budget, participation in the Champions League is a huge drain on resources.

In other terms, some teams are not adequately equipped to survive the double challenge of the Serie A and Europe.

Before, this handicap led to rather poor results attained by Udinese, Lazio, Fiorentina and Sampdoria. Apart from suffering early eliminations, due to lack of experience, these sides also showed a dip in form in domestic competitions.

The case of Sampdoria this season is emblematic.

The Blucerchiati finished fourth last season and earned the right to play in the third qualifying round of the 2010/11 Champions League.

Following their exit to Werder Bremen, Sampdoria’s rating plum-meted heavily. Now, they are seriously risking their Serie A status.

But, Napoli can be a different story as De Laurentiis seems to possess the financial muscle and business acumen to bolster the squad with the acquisition of two or three quality players.

In so doing, Napoli would improve their chances in Europe’s premier club competition and also enhance their prospects of a third scudetto – the first since 1990.

Statistics

1st win for Napoli after identical 1-2 upsets to Udinese and Palermo as last weekend Walter Mazzarri’s men left it late to beat Genoa by a solitary Marek Hamsik goal. This was Genoa’s first defeat after successive victories over Brescia (3-0) and Lecce (4-2). Genoa’s most recent of four away successes this season came on February 16 when they prevailed against rivals Sampdoria who hosted the derby.

2 goals deep into stoppage time saw Inter coming from a goal down to hand Cesena their seventh home defeat of the term – the first since the 0-3 drubbing at the hands of Udinese on the 25th day. Inter’s second successive win coincided with Cesena’s first defeat after a four-match unbeaten run (two wins and two draws).

3 points (as a result of a 2-1 away win at Napoli) are all misfiring Udinese have collected from the last available 15. On Sunday, they suffered their eighth away defeat this season as they were soundly beaten by in-form Fio-rentina. The latter are unbeaten in their last three outings.

6 points collected by Roma in their last two outings saw them reviving their chances to make a top-four finish. On Sunday, they left it late to beat lowly Bari 3-2. It was Roma’s second straight away win, following their 2-1 success over Udinese. On Monday, Juve exten-ded their positive run to seven games (four wins and three draws) thanks to an away win at fourth-placed Lazio. This was the Romans’ third home defeat of the season.