Tag Archive for 'spalletti'

Napoli: the winning team changes

The saying “A winning team does not change” will certainly not apply to this year’s Napoli, which dominates the Italian league. It has been official for days that Spalletti will no longer be its coach and it is likely that some players will leave the team.
These are hard facts to comprehend for those who have the idea that the goal of an absolute level club is to constantly improve. Thus, to attract in the immediate future new resources, serving the attraction represented by the enhancement of the roster of players that has been there during the championship and the quality of the work done by the staff led by the coach.
This concept has, however, been challenged by the coach’s departure and the fact that the possible transfer of important players such as Kim min-jae, Zielinski, Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia is being discussed.
Spalletti praised his players for their progress in the Champions League. “The quality of our soccer allowed us to stand out,” he said. “It was motivating for the players because they were facing a deserving Champions League finalist and they had to show everything we had achieved during the season.” He left, though, and the explanations certainly involve the stress accumulated during the championship, having received the confirmation via e-mail with a pec, the extreme difficulty represented by repeating this victory. My impression is that the necessary was not done to keep him in the lead of Naples.
The joy and enthusiasm of the fans will continue for a long time, as is only right when such a success is achieved decades after the victories won by Maradona’s team. If before today such an outstanding achievement had only been achieved thanks to the role played in Napoli by a sports legend, one cannot help but show gratitude to today’s team that has made it possible to unite the present with the past, giving a glimpse of what the future could look like.
The first games of the new season will be experienced with this state of mind, and it will be very positive for the city and its fans. The players and the entire team, however, will have to give thanks for this enthusiastic support and make these emotions their own by transferring them into the game, showing that they want to continue to nurture them through their desire to continue to amaze the world.

Napoli success: to play to make someone happy

The quality that Napoli expressed to win the Scudetto has been widely analyzed in match commentaries. However, it is my impression that the success was also determined by two other factors that Spalletti wanted to introduce that valued personal aspects that are important to every human being and that relate to the need for happiness and a sense of belonging.

In fact, he said, “We have to make someone happy in order to be happy people. From a personal point of view it’s the family, from a professional point of view it’s our fans, we don’t give a damn about individual numbers and who scores goals, we have to bring a team and group achievement to our city that makes the fans feel proud of us. We have to do something for the public’s affection for our jersey.”

On the other hand, how can you not espouse this approach to soccer in a city that named its stadium after Maradona, a player who fully represented soccer as the joy and bond of belonging to this team and Naples. So, of course you play to win but you win because you want to be happy and make happy. This is no small step, because you have to be aware of how to play to achieve this twofold goal, which combines the result with the enthusiasm born of playing your game. Achieving this goal was not easy, because we know that soccer is a very emotional sport. Because of the goal, which is a rare event, it is no coincidence that the three most usual scores in Serie A in order of frequency are 1-1, 2-1 and 1-0. It only takes one episode to change the fate of a game. This is not the case in other team sports such as volleyball and basketball where about every minute a point is awarded.

On this basis, to prevent the high level of emotionality from becoming a negative load of impulsiveness and foul play for teams, it was necessary for it to find its outlet in the joy that the game can convey. When we use words like, “we are going to the field to have fun,” it does not mean that we are going on a jaunt; it is not a sign of superficiality. Instead, it implies a desire to fully experience the pleasure of the challenge, namely the joy of doing as well as possible in difficult moments what one has prepared for.

Juan Jesus is the new Napoli leader

A team needs leaders on the field, but if the only leader is the coach, it cannot become a winning team. It is therefore possible that Juan Jesus‘ post-match declarations, which make him more and more of a leader, are an expression of this process of change, not only his own but also that of Napoli.

The team is fighting to win the Scudetto and Spalletti‘s words confirm the need to have leaders on the pitch: “We have to look our opponents in the eye, the players have understood and perceived this, they are all there determined to play the next game… something has changed in terms of attitude, we have realized that we have to do what we are good at. In the moment of difficulty you suffer, you adapt, then you pick up what is your conviction, what is your quality.” Juan Jesus responded to this request.

The change has been stimulated and favored by the stakes but finds its foundation in the passion that fuels the desire to win. Assuming responsibility requires courage to face problems; it doesn’t mean never making mistakes, but knowing how to get right back up. This is a crucial step found in every culture. If a North-American says that it doesn’t matter how many times you fall but how quickly you get back up, a Chinese says it in other words: “Fall 7 times, get up 8″. That’s the meaning of the footballer’s words when he said, “Good at fighting back, now we have to play our game!”. It doesn’t matter if you are an immovable starter or if you enter the game in progress, this is the indispensable mentality that holds together the team that struggles to achieve important results.