Opinion: Napoli need to put aside drama in order to be competitive again
It was last May when Napoli clinched the Serie A title for the first time since 1990. The title capped off an incredible run and an historic season that had also included reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
After having lost only one starter (South Korean center back Kim Min-jae went to Bayern Munich over the summer) from last season, many expected the Partenopei to contend for the title again.
It’s been five months since those wild celebrations and Napoli have looked unrecognizable at times over the last month. The breakthrough, however, came on Wednesday when Napoli routed Udinese 4-1 at home. For a night, it looked like the Napoli of old and new manager Rudi Garcia, who replaced the departing Luciano Spalletti, could breathe a sigh of relief. Even a draw could have prematurely ended his short time in Naples.
The victory was a respite from what had been a particularly difficult week. After Sunday’s 0-0 draw on the road against Bologna (where star striker Victor Osimhen missed a penalty kick), several controversies erupted with the force of Mount Vesuvius.
Osimhen was subbed out near the end of the Bologna game. The Nigerian responded by shouting back that Garcia should have kept him on and played him alongside a second striker. Osimhen later apologized to Garcia for what had amounted to insubordination.
Fans, at the same time, wanted Garcia fired (#GarciaOut was trending on X). By Tuesday, another scandal had erupted. Napoli’s TikTok account appeared to troll Osimhen, poking fun at him for missing a penalty kick. Tha came after another video, posted last week before the Bologna game, cut images of Osimhen together with a song proclaiming, “I’m a coconut.” Despite being deleted from the team’s official account, both videos gained new life when they were shared by users on other platforms.
In response, Osimhen’s agent Roberto Calenda threatened legal action. Osimhen also removed most of his Instagram posts with him wearing Napoli gear, triggering fears that he wanted out. The team never publicly apologized and no one on the social media team was fired for creating the posts.
“Over the last two days there was a bit of trouble with some clumsy behavior,” Garcia told reporters after the Udinese win. “Nobody wanted to be hurtful, not the TikTok with the video of Victor, nor Victor by taking his photographs down on social media.”
In fact, Garcia started Osimhen against Udinese. The Nigerian played a great match and scored the team’s second goal. The win put Napoli in fifth place and only four points behind joint-leaders Inter Milan and AC Milan. The team plays at surging Leece on Sunday in another must-win contest.
Garcia, who once insisted when he was Roma manager that his team had “put the church back in the center of the village” with a derby win over Lazio, had another analogy for reporters on Wednesday. Instead, he said Osimhen and striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had “set our watch back to the correct time.”
Osimhen was last season’s Serie A top scorer and Kvaratskhelia was named MVP in just his first year in Italy. Both players spearheaded a Napoli side that won its first league title since the days of Diego Maradona, unleashing celebrations that lasted weeks.
This remains a quality side despite the inconsistent start to the season. Napoli won their first two league games this season, but managed just two points from the next three, losing at home to Lazio before drawing against Genoa and Bologna.
This Napoli side is a work-in-progress. The TikTok brouhaha aside, it remains to be seen whether Garcia can right the ship and the team can repeat as champions. Off-the-field distractions — such as Napoli’s social media channels — certainly doesn’t help this fragile situation.
For the time being, those who had left Napoli for dead this past weekend will have to adjust that analysis. It’s true that you’re only as good as your last game in the high-stakes world of international soccer.
It’s true that Napoli have reset the clock. Only time will tell, however, whether they can be competitive like last season.