How Napoli became one of the best teams in Europe

If you're a soccer fan, you couldn't miss it. This season, Naples is topping Serie A and well and truly pushing through the Champions League. With 22 wins and two losses in 26 league games, Luciano Spalletti's men are on fire.

It's simple, the Neapolitans have the best defense in the league with 16 goals against and the best attack with an average of 2.4 goals per game. Only PSG, Bayern Munich and Manchester City are doing better in Europe.

However, at the end of last season, pundits did rate Napoli's chances in 2022-2023 too highly. Indeed, the club has lost many key players such as Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto FC), Dries Mertens (Galatasaray) or Fabian Ruiz (Paris-Saint-Germain).

However, this season, Luciano Spalletti's side is untouchable. In the Champions League, they atomized Liverpool 4-1 before beating Ajax Amsterdam 6-1 then 4-2, earning them a spot in the round of 16 after topping their group.

In the round of 16, they made light work of Eintracht Frankfurt, keeping them goaless on both occasions. 2-0, then 3-0 at home.  Napoli, therefore, has one foot and four toes in the quarter-finals – a monumental feat for the club for the former struggling club. 

It should be remembered that Napoli have not won the Italian championship since the 1989-1990 season, ie 33 years of scarcity. With 18 points ahead of Inter, the national title is assured, barring absolute disaster. 

How to explain such a spectacular change in form? There are several factors that come into play, in particular the recruitment this summer, players who return to the top level but also a game system geared towards the offensive.

The first thing to talk about is obviously the best-attacking duo in Europe this season: Khvicha Khvaratschvelia (as his name is hard to pronounce and write, we'll just write Khvarat!) and Victor Osimhen. Both players are on another planet this season.

Arriving last summer, 'Kvaradonna' as he's lovingly been named by the supporters (in reference to Diego Maradona) has revolutionized the game of his team. Electric, fast, intelligent… The winger is an outstanding dribbler and an excellent passer. He arrived from Dinamo Batumi in Georgia, and has been the revelation of the year in the world of football.

With nine assists (the highest total in the championship) and 10 goals, he is the second most decisive player in the championship behind… Victor Osimhen! The Nigerian striker is on fire this year. With 19 goals in as many games, he is currently on an eight-game league streak with at least one goal.

Inevitably, the center-forward is one of the very best scorers in Europe and, at 24, is proving to be one of the most promising attackers in the world. Passed by LOSC (Lille OSC), he was bought for 75 million euros by Naples in 2020.

The duo is therefore carrying Napoli this season, but behind them, other players are also excellent. This is particularly the case of the midfielder composed of Frank Anguissa, Piotr Zielinski, and Stanislav Lobotka. The three players are having a great season and are the three indisputable holders of the position.

The substitutes also have their role in the animation of the Spalletti team. With Giacomo Raspadori, Giovanni Simeone and Hirving Lozano and Matteo Politano in rotation, the quality of the squad is impressive. Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone are two fairly prolific scorers, the latter having seven goals this season… in two starts. Impressive!

It's good to have a squad with firepower, but the most important thing is to make it work cohesively. For this, Naples has found its man: Luciano Spalletti. The 63-year-old Italian tactician, who arrived in 2021, is the mastermind behind the club's flamboyant success story.

Much like his predecessor Maurizio Sarri, he deploys forward-facing and percussive football. He aligns this season a classic 4-3-3 system with a single tip: Victor Osimhen. With 61.3% possession, his team likes to have the ball and relies on the quality of the center of his wingers (Khvarat and Lozano / Politano).

Ultra-fast in offensive transition, Napoli can evolve with or without the ball. It's a team that knows how to adapt to its opponent and it showed it against Liverpool at the start of the season. A 4-1 victory with only 41% possession. This team is efficient and knows how to execute chances.

The question is how far can Spalletti take this squad? Already almost Italian champions with an 18-point lead, the next goal is the Champions League. This Napoli side can scare the greats of Europe and, who knows, carry out the surprise this year. We'll see their true colors on April 11, when they face off against AC Milan in the quarter-final leg.