Mazzarri’s men deliver warning

What a difference a new coach makes in football.

This time two years ago, Walter Mazzarri had just replaced Roberto Donadoni on the Napoli hot seat. In less than 24 months, the Partenopei sealed their first Champions League participation since 1991 and gradually became a force to reckon with.

In their first five league outings of the season, Napoli faced Cesena, Milan, Chievo, Fiorentina and Inter and collected 10 points in the process.

So far, their only setback came on the third day in a shock 1-0 upset away to Chievo and they were also held to a scoreless draw at the San Paolo by Fiorentina.

Last weekend, Mazzarri’s men shrugged aside a shaky start against Inter and went on to claim their first win at the San Siro in almost two decades.

True, luck did smile on Napoli as on the stroke of half-time they were awarded a dubious penalty and Inter were reduced to 10 men following a very debatable second booking to Joel Obi.

But, as they say, luck favours the brave and Napoli made the most of it. Against Inter, they soaked up the pressure and hit on the counter to secure a resounding 3-0 win despite having to do without one of their most influential players – Edinson Cavani.

When playing at full force Napoli are a joy to watch but they were rather edgy in Europe even though they chalked up four points from their opening two matches against Manchester City (away) and Villarreal (home).

This syndrome is typical of Napoli who, it seems, are good enough to handle key domestic league issues but still have to learn the ropes and deal adequately with high-tension Champions League matches.

In the opinion of many, it is a psychological barrier more than anything else and all depends on how good Mazzarri is to overcome this hurdle. But he needs to act fast as qualification hinges on the next two fixtures – against group favourites Bayern Munich (double-header).

Mazzarri still has to get the best out of his fringe players and when he succeeds his options will be wider.

Take Goran Pandev for instance.

On Saturday, the Macedonia international was drafted in to replace the injured Cavani but Inter blotted him out of the game.

The same applies for Giuseppe Mascara. The former Catania striker barely touched a ball despite playing for almost the entire second half at the San Siro.

Perhaps, the loss at Chievo and the dull display against Fiorentina fully epitomise Napoli’s failure to handle the challenge of the Serie A and Champions League.

Club owner Aurelio de Laurentiis has reportedly asked Mazzarri to lay more emphasis on the Champions League fixtures.

But then Napoli will have to make choices. Will it be Europe or the Serie A for them?

Surely, it will be difficult for Mazzarri to focus on two fronts with the lure of Europe’s prime prize and its riches perhaps forcing him to abandon the club’s bid for the scudetto, the first since Napoli last won it in 1990.

Statistics

1 point collected by Lazio in two home fixtures so far but, by contrast, Edy Reja’s Blues managed two wins and a draw away from home. On Sunday, they came from a goal down to beat Fiorentina 2-1 at the Artemio Franchi stadium for the second year running.

2 sides in Serie A are still winless – Cesena and Bologna. On Sunday, Cesena collected their first point of the season courtesy of a goalless home draw with Chievo. Against in-form Udinese, Bologna conceded a goal in each half to concede their fourth defeat of the season – the second in a row. Parma put an end to a barren run of two straight defeats by beating Genoa 3-1 at home. For Genoa, this was their second consecutive upset following their 1-2 reverse to Chievo.

6th home win on the trot for Roma against Atalanta as Luis Enrique’s side registered their first home victory of the season. Atalanta have last left the capital with a win in May 2003 (2-1). Novara and Catania shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller which could have gone either way. For the Sicilians, this was their first point away from home.

17 years had to pass for Napoli to return to winning ways at Inter’s San Siro as the southerners broke a two-match winless run by handing Inter a stunning third defeat of the season following the setbacks to Palermo and Novara. Meanwhile, Palermo scored a goal in each half against Siena to maintain a 100 per cent winning record at home. The upset was Siena’s first away from home after draws at Catania and Roma.

28 goals were scored on the fifth day. There were five home wins and two draws. Foreign players contributed with 15 goals. Total number of goals scored so far is 128. Sebastian Giovinco (Parma) and Claudio Marchisio (Juventus) grabbed the only two braces of the weekend. Giovinco is currently joint top-scorer with Genoa’s Rodrigo Palacio on five goals. Novara duo Takayuki Morimoto and Jedaias Jeda came on as substitutes and found the back of the net.