History Article
Close
This article was published April 17, 2015 at 10:24.
The last change is the April 17, 2015 at 10:27.
The big teams, or at least those that can play games that mark the history of a club, Like it or not are those that enchant internationally. National challenges, and also won championships in bursts, they end up taking contours blurred if they are not corroborated by victories in direct comparisons with the best of other countries. Just think of the Celtic Glasgow has won 45 league titles, 36 Scottish Cups and 15 League Cups, but it is known to this day for a single game played in 1967: the final (won against Inter of Herrera) European Cup .
Rafa Benitez knows very well this aspect of football and when he draws a team does not do it to get to the third place in the league or to gain qualifications in various capacities for the Champions League. Always chooses the most arduous road, the road of international challenges: because they are the ones who make history of a club.
Last night the Naples, opposite to Wolfsburg, played one of these races. No matter how it goes the rest of Europe League. It does not even matter what position the Neapolitans will close in the championship Italian. Tomorrow, in a year or in fifty, everyone will talk about how the Naples Rafa Benitez went to Germany to teach football. To impose their game to the team second in the Bundesliga, much more than the Borussia Dortmund dominated this year with merit by Juventus in the Champions League. To pave the squadron that you are allowed, in the German championship, to pave the Bayern Monaco with a heavy 4-1.
As if by magic, the lord of the balloon had imposed the law of retaliation, the Germans masters home have earned a 4-1 that nobody expected: Napoli, that when he plays well is probably the best Italian team (again, when he plays well, but it does not always) last night he played very well indeed. One distraction, with the goal conceded by Bendter 4-0: on the break! But when have we ever seen an Italian team that 4-0 attacks to try the fifth goal and it collects one remittance? Yesterday we saw that too, with Benitez angry on the sideline because he wanted the perfect match.
That was perfect though: just a mass suicide at the San Paolo in Naples will remove the semi-finals (for the Neapolitan fans: I’m doing their fingers crossed and touching everything possible …). Wolfsburg was simply blown away. Higuain’s goal, two goals from Hamsik and the network of a Gabbiadini just entered the field were only a small part of what we have seen in the field. Napoli almost scored, and score, and score again.
A coach like Rafa Benitez takes for races like this, not to chase the third place in the championship. The path chosen by the Spaniard to reach the Champions League next year is certainly the most difficult, the one that goes through the obligation of the victory in the Europa League. But it is also the most fascinating because back in time, when in the field there was a certain Diego Armando Maradona.
Other quarter-final, another trip, another Italian team committed to reach the finish of the semifinals. Change the result (1-1) but not the substance. Why Fiorentina Montella imparts a lesson in football at Dinamo Kiev, playing as if it were the Franks and not thousands of miles away. Change the result because the attackers purple are less precise than those of Naples, but above all because in Ukraine’s foot Tomovic inadvertently deflects a shot Lens just enough to finish in the door instead of the safe hands of goalkeeper Neto. Gollonzo, with luck for Dinamo.
It does not change the feeling of a very clear superiority of the guests because, apart from a few minutes to slow down after this episode, Fiorentina starts to grind game and opponents. Used several times and the feeling of an evening unfortunate when Borja Valero inzucca precise on the pole of the goal.
It does not change the prospect of reaching the semi-finals with two Italian teams because Fiorentina, even after the umpteenth failed chance, continues to grind game and opponents: the draw comes to 92nd with Babacar, who in full the penalty area guesses the inverted winning. A small and partial compensation after so many occasions shaded by a whisker. In a week the return to the Franks; if the distance between the two teams is the one seen last night (and even then I’m doing all the incantations necessary …) the purple really are just a step away from the semi-final.
A single annotation controversy : nice to see Italian teams play well, nice to think of having two semi-finals of the Europa League, beautiful everything. But it does not change a comma on the plight of our football. Last night, at the starting whistle, between Napoli and Fiorentina in the field there was only one Italian player: May, in Naples. For the rest foreigners only.
In the other two races quarters narrow victory against Zenit and Sevilla’s goalless draw between Dnipro and Bruges, but after two games iera evening views I think are worried especially opponents of the two Italian. Rightly so.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Permalink
No comments:
Post a Comment