2 Players Napoli Missed During the First Half of the Season

Although Napoli are tied for third place, the journey there has been much rougher than a year prior.

Poor form, new players and coach Rafael Benitez’s stubbornness have all contributed to a less potent Napoli side. Third place is not impossible to achieve, but it will take a very focused, collective effort.

Over the next couple of pages, we’ll examine two players Napoli have missed so far in the season.

Pepe Reina

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Pepe Reina arrived as part of the Spanish trio Benitez brought with him in the summer of 2013. Bar a few slip-ups, the 32-year-old proved to be a solid option between the sticks.  

This season, Reina’s understudy in Rafael Cabral has taken his place as Napoli’s No. 1. Although Rafael is not a terrible replacement—he is actually improving every week—the Partenopei are really missing Reina’s leadership and experience.

Rafael is only 24 years old, at quite an early stage in the maturing process of a goalkeeper. The Brazilian has to work on communicating better and organizing his defence.

Some may say Marek Hamsik goes missing in big games, but Reina was always vocally present, instructing his back four constantly.

It appeared that Reina’s wage demands were too high for Napoli to keep him as a long-term option. Bayern Munich then stepped in to buy him after the Partenopei refused to pay Liverpool his £3.95 million buy-out clause.

The ex-Liverpool man made 41 appearances for the club in all competitions last season.

Valon Behrami

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Valon Behrami is the biggest loss to this current Napoli side. The Swiss international joined the club in the summer of 2012 and made an immediate impact.

Originally purchased in Walter Mazzarri’s tenure of the Partenopei, the 29-year-old would lead Napoli to second- and third-place finishes as well as winning the Coppa Italia. Behrami’s physical presence was enough to scare opposing offences. He was a bulldog filled with endless energy in midfield, allowing Gokhan Inler time and space to orchestrate Napoli’s attacks.

The purchase of young starlet Jorginho from Hellas Verona in January 2014 meant that Behrami would see reduced minutes in the second half of the season.

The midfielder revealed to Tagesanzeiger.com (h/t Football Italia) that problems arose when Benitez took charge. He didn’t seem as confident and was never really sure where he needed to be tactically in the Spaniard’s 4-2-3-1.

It did not really take long this season for Napoli to quickly feel the effects of his absence.

We have seen a Napoli side frail in midfield, an area in which Behrami stamped his authority in every match he featured in. The midfield becomes easily overrun, which puts pressure on the Partenopei’s already shaky defence.

David Lopez was purchased from Espanyol, but he does not appear to be as effective as the Swiss international.

Behrami eventually joined Hamburg last summer on a three-year deal. He made 70 total appearances for the Partenopei.