DP91's European Glory

A Winterwonderland


December Fixtures


Our December fixtures weren't bad but a devastating defeat against Fiorentina to open the month meant it was unlikely we would be sitting top of Serie A come Christmas and that was exactly the case as Juventus leaped into the top spot having had a few games in hand prior to the months fixtures. Thankfully we did end the month's fixtures well with a good win over a Udinese side that had picked up points against the top sides this season already and a big win over Palermo.

December League Table


As can be seen we also dealt with Viktoria Plzen meaning we had secured qualification for the later stages of the Champions League but had we secured my record of topping the group stages?



Barcelona saw off Feyenoord comfortably in the other final fixture of the group stage meaning all 3 sides would be tied with 12 points. The good news is that we would top the group, the bad news however was that sadly Feyenoord would be eliminated to the Europa League having seen their goal difference significantly turned around and therefore finishing in 3rd spot in the group.


What ensured a good end to the first half of the campaign would of course be a good draw in the Last 16 of the Champions League stage. Thankfully Santa thought we should be rewarded for a good year as we drew Sevilla.

Perhaps a little bit of good news for Feyenoord was that Barcelona were drawn against Bayern in the tie of the round and there was also a draw for two of my previous clubs Roma & Man City which will make for an interesting game. Sadly for the first time however Shakhtar were no where to be seen, the reason being they actually failed to qualify for the competition after finishing 3rd last year in Ukraine! How the mighty have fallen!

Falling Behind


January wasn't great but still not an awful month for Napoli. Points dropped against Chievo was a bad way to start the month but it could have been worse as we left it late to take a point from the game. The quick firing Italian Cup games followed with a dominant performance from a side comprised of rotational and youth players, yes even more youthful than the first team against Perugia. The following round we faced rivals Juventus and although we had taken the lead in the match we struggled throughout and found ourselves 3-1 down and chasing a tie which we failed to get back into until late with the game finishing 3-2 to our opponents as Juventus see the second of the important clashes this season go their way.

A good win followed over the high flying Torino to go above them with 3 games in hand also before dropped points once more against Atlanta in a disappointing 0-0. We finished the month with a good win over Catania but with 4 points dropped this month and straight wins for Juventus in the league we find ourselves with 3 games in hand but at best a 6 point deficit to the old lady.

January Fixtures


January Table

Close but no Cigar


A good month in February was just what Napoli needed as we had games in hand to make up in Serie A. Good wins over the likes of previous club Roma and high flying Cagliari were well earned on top of good goal scoring wins over the likes of Sampdoria and struggling Modena at the foot of the table. We also had our first leg game against Sevilla in the Champions League 1st Knockout stage which provided a great 3-0 away win putting one foot into the quarter final stage.

We came close to the perfect month with our final league game of February as we had an away trip to Perugia who we had beaten 1-0 last month with a rotational eleven in the cup. This time out though when it mattered most we fell short on what was an opportunity to close the gap on Juventus to only 3 points but were unable to find the net in a frustrating result.
February Fixtures


A much improved league standing now after we have completed our games in hand puts us firmly into second place in the league standings but still quite some way behind Juventus having just missed our chance to get right back in the title race.

Exactly SBR, thats football I think a top 2 finish will be simple enough now but catching Juve will be a tough ask.



Dropping points in the games I shouldn't be really and if we don't sort it out that'll be our title hopes over!



Sevilla look down and out now, big ask but as long as I keep the pressure on there's no reason why we can't catch Juve indeed!

The Old Lady Takes No Prisoners




We started March with 3 league games in Serie A before we ventured back into Champions League football with our 2nd leg home tie against Sevilla. The first of our league games was Verona who we saw off in a dominant 4-2 performance which saw Verona score there only 2 shots on target during the game which was quite frustrating! The following game saw us travel to Lazio where the same outcome came once more and yet again we conceded twice and not from many more shots either frustratingly. A 3-2 win however meant the pressure was still on Juventus at the top of the table. Our final game pre Champions League was against Inter at home and we managed this time to secure a clean sheet in the tie with a 1-0 win meaning we went into Europe in good form.

Champions League - 1st Knockout Stage - 2nd Leg
Sevilla would once more prove to not be up to the challenge against my Napoli side as we dominated the game from start to finish with another 3-0 win which meant a 6-0 aggregate win and progression to the quarter final stage where we would be facing the victors of Barcelona v Bayern so either way a tough task coming up for Napoli


In a final Champions League round up for March we did actually play the first leg of the quarter final stage as well where we faced Bayern where a late clearance off the line ensured we managed a 1-1 draw in the game, a great result and away goal. Take note in the below shot of the 2 officials on the pitch at once, 'You're getting sacked in the morning!'



Serie A - Round-Up
Finally for the March round up was our final Serie A fixture, which did actually come before the Bayern but has been left till last just for dramatic affect as we faced Juventus in a must win game to keep our hopes of winning the Serie A alive this season and you may had already guessed from the post title that it didn't go too well either!




A game in hand but the league is effectively over for this season in my eyes, Juventus are flying and haven't dropped a point for months now. With the victory over ourselves they are at worst 8 points in front with 21 available and if it was any other league and any other club I'd still have some hope. Time to rotate the squad and focus on Europe!

Season Round-Up


It has been a hectic few days for me and much travelling meaning the odd game played here and there which before I knew it I had actually finished the season so apologies for a rushed and slightly less insightful final post for this season but here's how it all finished for season 2021 / 2022.

A good win in Serie A over Empoli set us up for the big tie against Bayern in the Champions League quarter final which we would enter with a 1-1 draw but away goal advantage. Having scored 4 in the Serie A game I went in confident of at least scoring once which would hopefully ensure we would at least see extra time in the fixture.
That however wasn't to be as the game saw the odd chance but none that could be put away for either side meaning that come 90 minutes we had managed to edge the tie on away goals, a great achievement having now knocked out the side whom had additionally knocked out the competition favourites Barcelona in their previous round tie. Our reward for the semi final stage, Juventus

Our three following league fixtures effectively now officially saw the title land in the laps of Juventus as we first dropped points to Cittadella meaning they had taken 4 points from us this season before absolutely obliterating Milan in the following game with 29 shots, 14 on target to Milan's 5 shots and 1 on target which was the only goal of the game!
The final of the three league games before our European tie against the now re-crowned Italian champions was against Fiorentina and we yet again prepared for Europe well with a 3-0 win in yet another dominant performance alike to the Milan game.


Crushed
Our game against Juventus in the first leg of the semi-final stage in Europe just proved how much better Juve are in comparison to us this season as they ran away 4-2 winners away from home almost ending the tie in one fatal swoop. The game was fairly even and we did actually have more shots than our opponents however were not clinical enough once again and furthermore found ourselves unable to match our opposition for shots on target which decided the tie in my opinion.


This now meant that we had faced Juventus 4 times this season with 1 game remaining and had lost 3 and won 1 early in the season at home to our rivals. A game against Udinese was our preparation before the much needed comeback in Europe and for once we didn't prepare well as our opponents ran out 3-2 victors ensuring a bad omen lured over the 2nd leg of the semi-final being the first game we would enter not only being behind in the tie but also approaching the game on the back of a defeat.
The omen would prove true also as the game and tie were lost after a 3 goal comeback in the game could not be followed up as Juventus once again took no prisoners going 4-3 ahead and then 5-3 as we attempted to mount a comeback once more only to be shot down.

3 final fixtures followed in Serie A as we at least wanted to end the season on a high and looked like doing so before another defeat against Roma in the final game of the season deflated what was actually a pretty good first year in Naples I feel. I forgot to get a screenshot of the league table having now progressed into the the first month of the new season, meaning of course another update is soon to follow this but the top 4 finished as:

1: Juve
2: Napoli
3: Torino
4: Roma (Victory over us on the final day actually saw Roma leapfrog Fiorentina into 4th!)
5: Fiorentina

Champions League - Final



Juventus really do take things up a notch when I'm in town don't they! I returned to Italy to accomplish unfinished business and yet Juve decide to complete a treble of Serie A, Italian Cup and Champions League to inflict a crushing blow to what would have been a good season for Napoli in my return. 3 Italian teams had made it to the final 4 of the Champions League, what kind of challenge have I walked myself back into There is much work ahead!

Season 2022/23 - Napoli Take-Two


So as we approach the second season in Naples and my fourth in Italy it is time to strengthen the squad after the domination of The Old Lady last season who ran-away with the treble and defeated us 4/5 times!

We start with two transfers whom instantly took up our foreign player allocation for the season, both of whom arrived on free transfers thanks once again to the 'bosman rule'. This sadly did mean however that once again I would not be able to pursue Ortega as much as I am determined to bring him in and fire Napoli to glory.

Ezequiel Delgado - CM


Jonathan Costa - AML


A total combined valuation of over £50m for two free transfers was just too good to turn down as much as I had wanted to sign Ortega. In doing so I now have a complete central midfield and also complete cover for the AML position.
A further acquisition was made on the back of the bosman rule as another long term target arrived to bolster the midfield further both in CM and DM allowing for a potential departure to occur and therefore additional funds to acquire a striker as priority.

Rewiedath Sandvliet - CM / DM


Two final players arrived to bolster the first team squad, both of whom have played under my leadership before. A beast of a striker and a winger who had previously dominated.



Transfers Out
Transfers out totalled £43.5m meaning an £8m was spent overall on the two transfers in saving around £20m in finances and also reducing out wage budget by 250k, not bad at all!

Finally for this update I was offered another shot at International football as the Netherlands sought out a replacement for Brendan Rodgers who was recently sacked although I had to turn down the offer once more as I currently have no intentions to venture into that department. Additionally a look at our Champions League group prior to the next update containing our August and September fixtures.


Quite a tough group I feel but as ever one we can progress from for sure. I'm not yet overly confident about Napoli as an elite force in Europe even after our semi final appearance last season but the squad is stronger now so who would write us off!

I thought PSG pushed my Monaco side hard but Juve last year and as ever when I'm in town were pretty untouchable.



Tough but I think we can get through if we are anything alike to our European performance levels last year.

This Time We Mean Business


So with the transfers complete and the squad raring to go we kicked off the 2022/23 season and this time Juventus must be stopped and Europe must be conquered. We would be facing early pressure as Juventus would be knocking at Sao Paulo only 3 games into the season followed by Inter alike to last seasons campaign and within our opening months fixtures we would also travel away to my previous club Man City.

We started as we meant to go on with a 4-2 win over Verona which was actually left quite late in assuring 3 points after a brilliant start where we had bagged an early 2 goal lead. Next up were Genoa in our first away game and a fairly even game which was quite a worry but we came away with the points all the same with a close 2-1 victory.

Our first game in Europe was against our Turkish opposition this year, Galatasaray. A pretty slow encounter ensued in our return to the big stage and we came away falling short with a 0-0 draw and being at home in this fixture an early worry but nothing to write home about!

Then came Juventus. Time for some revenge and that was exactly what we took from the game. We took the lead just after the latter stages of the first half and were pegged back prior to half time. The second half though was a different story as the team rallied out and dominated with chance after chance, frustratingly once more though not many were hitting the target. A penalty was put away by Halilovic for his second of the game at the hour mark and prior to a brief resurgence from the old lady we continued to pepper the opposition box and finally killed the game off in the late stages of the game keeping form and scoring once every 30 minutes in the game duration. A good 3-1 victory, early defeat inflicted upon our foe and a joint top spot secured.

We travelled next to Milan to face Internazionale and came away with a draw after a thrilling game which we should have really put to bed late on but once more couldn't quite hit the back of the net when it really mattered. A 3-3 draw the result in what was a very tense game but one we probably should have come away with another 3 points. We were however back to winning ways in our final Serie A league game of the month against opponents Cagliari who always put the pressure on us but with Lukaku starting to find his feet in Serie A he ensured we got the win we needed to keep the pressure on at the top.

Our final game of the month and a return to Manchester. A very tough game away from home which we could have come away without anything had City made the most of their chances for a change as it is usually us whom struggle to make the most of our opportunities. The formation change since my departure at City I feel probably made the difference as the 4-4-2 our opposition played resulted in little control of the game in terms of possession for the home side. A 1-1 draw at full time and not a great place to be after 2 games but one that I am sure we can turn in our favour with the fixtures over Valencia coming up.


Aug/September Fixtures


League Table

Dropping points to Inter was detrimental to letting Juventus right back into the race for the top spot early on but of course at this stage it means very little. We may 'Mean Business' this year but our opposition clearly have no intentions to let us run away with anything!

The Belgian Beast


The month of October was the month of the Belgian beats as Lukaku found form in the 4-3-3-DM once more under my guidance and fired Napoli into great league form and additionally a good position in the league table. There were however some issues in Europe as the club saw their first defeat to Valencia which came as a slight shock as the Spanish side had failed to claim a point from their first two games.

Champions League


With 3 games played we're struggling and sit bottom of the group table. 5 points from the top spot and the record of topping every group is now not even a consideration as just qualification would keep me happy and with 9 points available but 2 behind a spot in the latter stages it isn't over just yet!

October Fixtures


10 goals for Lukaku in 6 games and a goal in all but one, complete domination in what may have been quite straight forward fixtures but 4/6 being away from home I believe it was a good month for the club, just a shame about Europe! Roma proved tough opposition at home as we fell short somewhat for me but yet again we avoided defeat in Serie A and therefore sit in a good position in the league table after 10 games.

October League Table

Nice November for Naples


A brief update for November, can tell it's Christmas as I'm struggling to find time to post updates and such!

Champions League Group
After 4 games and our win over Valencia the second time around the table now looks a little nicer for Napoli!


Hail Halilovic
If it wasn't for Halilovic scoring late on against Galatasaray we may have been once again on the verge of elimination from the Champions League but thanks to a 94th minute free-kick not only did we get the win but have no advanced to the next stage as neither Galatasaray or Valencia can best us on results against should we lose the final game and either match our points total. We could also still top the group with a win over Man City and a better goal difference over the two games!


Fixtures


League Table

Qualification secured now due to Galatasaray and Valencia not being able to out do us for points and we have the superior games against record.

December Delights


Would You Adam & Eve It
After out torrid time in the early stages of the Champions League this season we have only gone and topped the group! A 94th minute winner over Galatasaray and now a 91st minute winner over Man City see's us top the group due to a superior games against record. Crazy.


Either way it appears a good draw would have been the outcome as ourselves and Man City draw Sporting Lisbon and Marseille respectively.


A short but perfect month in December for Napoli as we now sit top in Serie A and are still unbeaten whilst having drawn favourable opposition in the first knockout stage in the Champions League it's safe to say that the year so far has been a delightful one for Naples.