Many say he is the hero Napoli deserved since the tumultuous days of Diego Maradona while many Neapolitans see him as the messiah of a great football club that was somehow lost in the pages of Italian football history but for the initiatives of a film producer and one of the most loyal SSC Napoli fan in the form of Aurelio De Laurentiis. Here we are talking of Walter Mazzarri who carried on a vision proposed by Mr. De Laurentiis to bring back the glory days back to a city that attaches itself to the beautiful game more than any other Italian city leaving Milan and Rome aside.
Since his appointment as the manager of the Southern club in October 2009 replacing former Italian international Roberto Donadoni, Napoli have continued to improve year by year and the vision of De Laurentiis is well on track as the Partenopei finished third in the Serie A, their best result in twenty one years. This means Napoli would be rubbing shoulders with the elite clubs of European football having qualified for the Champions League spot come the 2011/2012 season. The 49-year old Mazzarri has showed that he is not far behind as one of the best managers in business in the highly competitive managerial environment of European football. Although the road is long enough to bring back the glory days of 1989 and 1990 when a Diego Maradona inspired Napoli won the Serie A, both Walter Mazzarri and club President Aurelio De Laurentiis have a common goal of bringing the ultimate glory in San Paolo.
Walter Mazzarri has always tasted under rated success with various clubs at various levels of Italian football with stints at Reggina and Sampdoria, with whom he attained a great deal of stability and also guiding the Genoan club to the Italian Cup final in 2008/2009, particularly notable before Napoli signed him in 2009. What makes Mazzarri pretty special is the fact that he has the ability to sign quality players that give their best for a full season. He did that with Antonio Cassano at Sampdoria and now Napoli have gained rich dividends from the performances of the likes of Marek Hamsik, Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Hassan Yebda. The coming season will prove to be tougher for Walter and his boys as they look to improve on their Serie A standings and also impress in Europe as Naples is set to welcome the best of Europe to the green pastures of San Paolo in Southern Italy.
Many Napoli fans and football lovers in general were surprised to see reports in the final weeks of the Serie A last month suggesting Walter Mazzarri would leave the Vesuvian club for a potentially lucrative move to Juventus following a behind the door spat with Aurelio De Laurentiis. However, both men, it seems, have resolved the situation since then Sky Sports reported on May 24 that the former Reggina boss has agreed to sign a new five year deal at San Paulo. A statement for the club’s official website read,
“President De Laurentiis and coach Mazzarri cleared the air to reinforce their personal relationship. After two years of collaboration which has taken Napoli into the Champions League before it was expected, the President and coach Mazzarri have agreed a new collaboration to continue the club’s development for a further five years.”
Since Napoli returned to Italian top flight after getting bankrupt in 2004 before meandering its ways through the lower leagues and into the Serie A, the resurrection of the club itself was regarded as something of a miracle since Maradona helped the club to a Serie A and European title in the late eighties and early nineties. Yet when the Partenopei ensured automatic Champions League qualification after a 1-1 draw with Internazionale of Milan in mid May, Walter Mazzarri burst into tears and the San Paolo erupted with joy as blue smoke filled the skies of Naples, it felt as if another miracle has just happened in the hallowed fields of SSC Napoli’s football stadium.
Its not all about the pedigree of this club but years of hard work and patience have seen Walter Mazzarri use his shrewd tactics to leapfrog the likes of Juventus, Lazio, Roma and Udinese for the coveted third place behind the Milan teams. Considered a master tactician, Mazzarri is one of the rare breed of managers who relies on a three man defense and a midfield of five that is flexible enough to move down to protect the defense and go up to support the two strikers up front depending on the match situation. One thing that makes Walter Mazzarri best in the business is the fact that he uses his trusted 3-5-2 formation to his liking using variations such as 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 considering the various opposition threats. The trust and ability of his players to adapt to the tactical repertoire of their coach is one of the most important factors that has made SSC Napoli a fluid, attacking and balanced side in the Serie A.
Clearly a sign of a great team in the making if Aurelio De Laurentiis can hold off Walter Mazzarri’s long line of suitors for many seasons to come and help the man from San Vincenzo, Tuscany, achieve the goal of bringing back the lost glory in San Paolo and if the financial and psychological environment are good enough, the Tuscan sun would always shine over the skies of Naples and ofcourse SSC Napoli.
