Giacomo Raspadori gives the credit to the third Napoli coach of the season after their win over Juventus. ‘These are the results of the first 10 days under Francesco Calzona.’
The Partenopei had taken the lead through a Kvicha Kvaratskhelia volley, cancelled out by Federico Chiesa, when Joseph Nonge trod on Victor Osimhen’s foot in the penalty area.
Osimhen saw the spot parried by Wojciech Szczesny, but Raspadori was quickest to react on the rebound to seal the 2-1 victory.
“This is the kind of game we expected and prepared for, as we knew it could be fundamental,” Raspadori told Sky Sport Italia.
“We are improving day by day and building something important here. These are the results of the first 10 days working with Mister Calzona. We are happy because even when we got into a difficult situation, we still managed to keep a very high level of concentration, and that is what allowed us to get the result.”
Rudi Garcia had started the campaign, then replaced by Walter Mazzarri, but Calzona was drafted in just hours before the Champions League Round of 16 tie with Barcelona.
He oversaw a 1-1 draw in that fixture, the same result against Cagliari, then wins over Sassuolo and Juventus. What has changed under Calzona?
“We tried to press the reset button mentally, as we were conditioned by how the season was going. We followed his concepts and tried to build some consistency and confidence. He helped us a lot, but that does not mean the improvement process is finished. We are still lagging behind in the table and need to get more results.”
Raspadori has always been something of a tactical mystery, but he maintains there is a clear role he favours.
“I always said that I prefer to be in central positions, but that doesn’t mean I cannot play wider, especially as I can cut inside from there. The coach told me I would play in all the attacking roles and I think I can do that.”
RASPADORI WITH THE PENALTY REBOUND, 2-1 NAPOLI 😮 pic.twitter.com/k6Zh58wyCX
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 3, 2024
Napoli were no different when it came to their weaknesses as highlighted throughout the campaign. Yes, they keep a lot of possession and yes they do pepper the goal with plenty of shots. But the midfield and defence give the opposition a lot of opportunities. Fact is, Vlahovic made Napoli relevant. He missed three literal sitters. More the case of luck than the calzona effect.