Napoli’s Faltering Title Defence More Than Just Rudi Garcia’s Fault

Forbes Business SportsMoney Napoli’s Faltering Title Defence More Than Just Rudi Garcia’s Fault Emmet Gates Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover European soccer. Following Oct 9, 2023, 04:56pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Josip Brekalo of ACF Fiorentina celebrates with team mates after scoring during the Serie A TIM .

. . [+] match between SSC Napoli and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona Naples Italy on 8 October 2023.

(Photo by Franco Romano/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images As Nico Gonzalez slammed the ball high into the top of the Napoli net, the Argentine may just have slammed the lid on the incredibly short Rudi Garcia reign at Napoli. Fiorentina’s 3-1 victory away in Naples where, surprisingly, they have a very good record in recent years, means Napoli are already some seven points behind league leaders Milan at the top of the Serie A summit. Napoli have already lost twice in the league in eight games, something that wasn’t managed under Luciano Spalletti until March in the title-winning campaign.

The reigning champions look a shadow of the team that steamrolled everyone on course to the first Scudetto since the heady days of Diego Maradona. Mistakes have been made from top to bottom in the club, and Garcia is reportedly now on the verge of getting sacked from the club after only three months in the role. Garcia has had many failings since arriving: substituting star players Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (twice) in the latter part of games; his rather reactive approach to games and shying away from the elements that made Napoli great last season under Spalletti; his continual neglect of left-back Mario Rui in favour of Mathias Olivera.

The truth is, the coach who inflicted Napoli’s defeat, Vincenzo Italiano, should be one of the main contenders to replace Garcia, and should’ve been the first choice to replace Spalletti last summer, and the decision to go with Garcia becomes more head-scratching by the week. Yet the blame can’t solely be laid at Garcia’s door. Aurelio De Laurentiis deserves to portion some of the blame for Napoli’s lacklustre start.

The club lost defensive lynchpin Kim Min-Jae but failed to adequately replace him. Napoli signed Natan from Brazilian side Red Bull Bragatino for $10m, and the 22-year-old could become the cornerstone for Napoli in the coming years, but he’s not close to the level of the South Korean, at least not yet. Another De Laurentiis own goal was not buying an extra midfielder.

The club had agreed a fee with Celta Vigo for the young Spaniard Gabi Veiga, only for the deal to collapse due to Napoli suddenly changing the terms of the agreement, allowing Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli to steal a march on the youngster over a weekend and sign him from under Napoli’s noses. De Laurentiis is infamously a difficult negotiator when it comes to transfers and demands all players sign over image rights to him and the club. It’s unknown if this issue played a part in the collapse of the deal, but Napoli lost out on one of Spain’s brightest talents, and another target wasn’t identified.

MORE FOR YOU Today’s ‘Connections’ Answers And Hints For Monday, October 9 The Russians Are Wrapping Their Old T 62 Tanks In Drone Armor From Tracks To Turret No Electricity No Food No Fuel Israel Orders Complete Siege On Gaza Strip Franck-Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka and Piotr Zielinski, all integral to the title success last season, have failed to hit the same heights in the earliest part of this season. Lobotka and Anguissa both look remarkably leggy and the genuine lack of alternatives means the pair is forced to play every game without much of a break. Losing sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli also feeds into this.

Giuntoli, who signed Kvaratskhelia for a paltry $10m in the summer of 2022, jumped ship to Juventus following the title win and he, like Kim Min-Jae, wasn’t replaced adequately. Mauro Meluso was chosen as Giuntoli’s replacement, but Meluso’s CV, while positive, shows a lot of work in the lower rungs of the Italian game and little in the way of much Serie A experience, save for a few years at Spezia. This is first experience of a top club in Italy and he has a long way to go in order to replace Giuntoli.

The stage was set last summer for Napoli to really kick on and retain their Scudetto, to achieve a feat even Maradona’s great Napoli side couldn’t do. Yet here we are in early October and the wheels are already falling off; a litany of mistakes made, from failed signings to a mediocre coach to an unproven sporting director. The important thing for De Laurentiis is that he still has time to rectify his mistakes and Napoli can still turn things around, but the time to act is now.

Will that happen? The jury is out. Follow me on Twitter . Emmet Gates Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.