Scudetto winner last season, why is Napoli struggling to defend its title this season?

On May 5, 2023, the streets of Naples were embellished with blue and white. The old reminisced about the Diego Maradona era. The young, who had till then just heard stories, saw their city come alive in revelry after Napoli won the Scudetto for the first time in 33 years, finishing with 90 points – 17 more than runner-up Lazio.

Cut to 2024, 11 months later, the club is languishing at eighth, and the team looks like a mere shadow of the dominant force it was in the previous season.

Seldom has a defending champion exhibited such a poor title defence. In recent history, only Manchester United’s example stands out when the club finished sixth in David Moyes’ first season (2013-14) after Alex Ferguson guided the Red Devils to their 20th League title in the previous season and drew curtains on his 26-year-stay with the club.

So what went wrong with Italy’s current champion? There have been theories of players succumbing to the pressure of being title defenders, but the matter is hardly that black and white.

Luciano Spalletti’s exit and rapid managerial changes

Luciano Spalletti became a rage in the footballing fraternity for making Napoli play a fearless brand of football. He managed to find the balance in all departments, as Napoli finished last season with the most goals (77) and having conceded the least (28).

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With a set system in place, the first step towards Napoli’s downfall began when contractual troubles started brewing between Spalletti and club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis. When De Laurentiis tried to trigger the clause to increase Spalletti’s contract by a year with the same salary, there were widespread rumours of the latter being offended.

“I no longer have the energy to be up to the standard of what people love so much, so I have to take two steps back and leave,” Spaletti said when confirming his departure.

Rudi Garcia was tasked with filling Spalletti’s shoes, but the union was waiting to break right from the start. In his first press conference, Garcia criticised Napoli’s chaotic working structure.

Moving away from his predecessor’s effective 4-3-3 formation, he shuffled between the 4-2-3-1 and the traditional 4-4-2 setup, which irked the players and led to a dressing-room revolt. After 16 games, Garcia was shown the door.

Walter Mazarri returned for a second stint with Napoli (the first stint was between 2009-13) but could not get settled as well. When he left, Napoli was ninth, with 33 points in 24 matches – 27 behind table-topper Inter Milan.

Francesco Calzona is currently the man in charge, who is also the manager of the Slovakia national team. Under him, the Partenopei have played eight games. They have won and lost two games each, drawing four.

Osimhen-Kvaratskhelia duo falling short

Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were the two standout players in Napoli’s attack last season. Last season, Osimhen finished as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals, while Kvaratskhelia topped the assists charts with 10 and netted 12 times.

This season, the duo has not replicated last season’s magic. Currently, Osimhen has just 11 goals in 18 games. For Kvaratskhelia, too, it has been an underwhelming season, as he has just five assists in 27 outings.

What are the numbers saying?

The numbers this season are a stark reflection of how Napoli is failing as a unit. Last season, Spalletti’s team registered an average of 2.03 goals per game, compared to 1.47 this season.

The defending champion has also deteriorated in keeping the ball compared to last season. In their title-winning year, it maintained an average possession of 64.8 per cent throughout the campaign. This year, Napoli’s average possession till now has been 61 per cent.

Therefore, from an attacking perspective, the Partenopei are in tatters. They scored 77 goals last season last season but have managed to score just 44 in the current campaign. This means they have to score 33 goals in eight games to equal last season’s goalscoring record.

In defence, the loss of Kim-Min-Jae has proved costly for Napoli. A dominating presence in the backline last season, the South Korean centre-back’s departure to Bayern Munich left a gaping hole which has not been filled.

Napoli had the best defensive record last season after conceding just 28 goals throughout. This season, it has already conceded 36

What is the road forward?

Already out of Europe and with bleak chances of securing European football next season, De Laurentiis’ biggest challenge will be retaining his star players for next season.

De Laurentiis will most probably look for a managerial change in the summer, looking to get someone who will be comfortable working around the club’s ethos.

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The club has already built once from scratch and conquered the league. While a title charge seems like a distant possibility in the coming season, the priority will be to secure a Champions League spot and inch closer towards building a solid base to challenge for the Scudetto again.