Inter tired and showing cracks, Napoli plays the best football in Italy: Spalletti can and must believe in overtaking the championship | First page
When, last summer, I predicted the Napoli champion of Italy I was taken to loud sneers by the readers of Calciomercato.com who do not love me and welcomed with conjurations by agnostic Neapolitans, always ready to defend themselves from the gufata instead of being helped by propitious prophecy.
When then – as reported a month and a half ago – Napoli, in addition to paying for a large amount of unfortunates, had to face the league and Coppa Italia commitments without the squads for the Africa Cup, among which Koulibaly and Anguissa, skepticism has become general and the mockery of me has been wasted. In particular after the home defeats against Empoli, Spezia and Fiorentina (in the Cup).
All this happens because I have two serious flaws. The first, to make predictions in a clear and non-Christian Democratic way. The second, to support them to the end and, at times, against each. So even on Sky, where my opinions are hosted, I insisted on the line: Napoli plays the best football because it is hardly or not at all codified; Napoli has a wide and qualified squad at least as much as Inter; Napoli has Spallettithat is a coach who, at almost 63 years old, has not yet won a championship in Italy (but has won two in Russia) and has such deep motivations as to equalize his football science.
Now that we have come close to the direct confrontation, with Inter only one point higher than Napoli, despite having one game less, I wonder where all those who saw the Neapolitan team in contention were, at most, for fourth place. Spalletti not only wants to win against Inter, but – if I know him well – he wants to win them all from here to the end, get it done in the beginning. Only in this way, in fact, would the Scudetto almost certainly be guaranteed. This is to say that Napoli have not yet conquered anything and that the race remains difficult, also because there are two opponents: leaders Inter Milan and Milan..
And yet, not only in my opinion, Inter are tired. Losing the derby is hardly relevant (he conceded a five-minute blackout to Milan while dominating it)he showed quite a few cracks with Roma in the Italian Cup. If it is true – as it is true – that the start of the match is furious and the Nerazzurri were able to score not one, but at least three have goals, it is equally true that afterwards they took a breath, leaving the field to the opponent. And, however upset, Roma had at least three occasions to equalize, before being knocked out by Sanchez’s goal. Of course these are details that those who look at the result do not grasp or do only partially.
That of Naples will be the challenge between the best attack (Inter) and the best defense (Napoli) which has the advantage of finding Koulibaly, African champion fresco, full of enthusiasm and desire to play. However Spalletti said that he has not yet decided whether to deploy him or not (he will do it a few hours before the couple of the match) also because it consists of a match Rrahmani-Juan Jesus it helped to make the department almost completely impenetrable. Lobotka And Fabiano Ruiz, despite some ailments, they will be the central midfielders, with Anguissa initially on the bench. All confirmed up front with OsimhenSupported by Politano, Zielinski And Insignecalled to replicate the excellent work done in Venice.
Naturally, Simone Inzaghi also seems to have, at least apparently, some training doubts. One is about her Sticks (trad D’Ambrosio And Marco’s I would choose the first), the other the definition of the attack: Dzeko is in heraldic form, written Vladimiro Caminiti, great cantor of All Sportand therefore it is not touched. Sanchez is better off than Lautarotherefore he will play to the detriment of the Argentine. Inter’s strength lies in the midfield: both because the line is thick and qualitative, and because universal players like Stretcher And Calhanoglu they are not for everyone.
The prediction, this time, is difficult. To support mine, a draw would be enough. But the opportunity for Napoli is too tempting. You must be taken on the fly with a total game, without tactics and without savings. She would mean being in the lead. Probably not alone (Milan will also be there) and not definitively (Inter must recover in Bologna). But trust would go a thousand.