It is important for Napoli and Kim Min-jae to finish the rest of the season well.
Napoli are having a historic season. Napoli are moving closer to the Scudetto this season. Currently, at the point of playing 30 league games, it is recording 75 points, 16 points ahead of Inter Milan in second place. Napoli are on the verge of winning their first title since Diego Maradona’s 1989-90 season.
It is a more brilliant achievement because I did not have high expectations. Napoli let go of team legends Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne, Fabian Ruiz and David Ospina ahead of the season. Each has been the top scorer, iconic captain, most talented playmaker and number one goalkeeper in team history. In addition, Kalidou Koulibaly, the leader of the defense, also moved to Chelsea.
Efficient recruiting was the biggest harvest. General manager Cristiano Giuntoli was keen on signing many freshmen before the season. In the transfer market last summer, Hvica Kvarachhelia, Kim Min-jae and others strengthened their offense and defense. Napoli, which showed the extreme of low cost and high efficiency, is conquering Serie A.
Now we are left with the magic number ‘4’. Currently, leaders Napoli have 75 points and second place Lazio have 61 points. With 8 league games left, even if Lazio wins all 8 games, Napoli will win only 4 wins.
The league is right in front of Scudetto. However, I felt a big wall in the European competition. Napoli advanced to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) for the first time in the history of the club this season. The opponent in the quarterfinals was AC Milan, who had a memory of winning last September in the league. The dominant evaluation was that Napoli accepted a relatively easy matchup without meeting Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich.
However, Napoli has not been able to show its potential in big competitions. Napoli lost 0-1 away from Milan in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on the 13th (Korean time), and in the second leg on the 19th, they drew 1-1 and lost 1-2 on aggregate.
The reason why Napoli was helplessly eliminated from the Champions League is narrowed down to two things. This is because of lack of experience and monotonous team management. First of all, there is a lot of regret in the crisis management ability that comes from lack of experience. Napoli reached the Champions League quarter-final stage for the first time, and in the flow of the game, Milan’s skill was not able to pull the pulse.
In the second game, after allowing the opening goal, he showed a rather hasty appearance, and the strikers’ lack of decisiveness and absurd mistakes increased. In addition, when the game was not resolved in the first game, Kim Min-jae protested harshly and received a cumulative warning penalty, and became a self-killer who could not play in the second game.
Along with the lack of experience, the factor holding Napoli’s ankle is monotonous squad management. In other words, lack of rotation. Napoli’s 4-3-3 formation has hardly changed their starting lineup. In particular, he insisted on Plan A even when he had spread the league lead by more than 10 points to second place.
Except for Victor Osimen and Piotr Zielinski, who were injured in the Lecce match just before the first leg of the Champions League against Milan, the starting combination was activated, and in the league match against Hellas Verona held just before the second leg against Milan, Osimen played. Excluding, the full week was operated.
In the end, Plan A’s stubbornness led to a helpless defeat in the Champions League. This is because of the exhaustion of physical strength and the inability to operate various tactics. In the end, Napoli couldn’t match the experience and flexibility of Milan, the second-most Champions League-winning team.
For Naples, the future has become more important. Napoli, who is about to win the historic league title in 23 years, has virtually confirmed the Scudetto. But for next season and the future, coach Luciano Spalletti needs to be flexible.
As the possibility of key players such as Osimen and Kim Min-jae leaving the team next season is growing due to their strong performance this season, Napoli must show that it is not a team that only depends on them. In the end, in order for the players to have confidence in the team’s future, coach Spalletti has to show not only Plan A, which he does best, but also Plan B, during the remaining eight league games.
The remaining games have become more important not only for the Napoli team,안전놀이터 but also for Kim Min-jae himself. Currently, with the attention of English clubs such as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur being super focused, Kim Min-jae must also show his crisis management skills in the remaining 8 league games. Napoli has reigned at the top of the league with a sword and shield more powerful than anyone else in the early and mid-season this season and so far. But now it’s time to think about how to flexibly use that sword and shield.