Gattuso's Napoli is born. Spotlight on the San Paolo on this Saturday which opens the 16th day, with the Azzurri expected from the insidious engagement with Parma (18 pm). Ancelotti's dismissal and the consequent arrival of Rino make the match even more tantalizing than it already was for him: woe to forget, in fact, that the ducals have 21 points in the standings, the same as Napoli. However, it is clear that it is the Azzurri who have made all this possible, with a performance that is truly below expectations, so much so that not even qualifying for the Champions League has prevented De Laurentiis from proceeding with the change of technical guide. A clear trend reversal is expected from Gattuso, starting with the absence of victories which has now lasted for almost two months: the last one in the league dates back to 19 October (2-0 over Verona), after which only draws (4) and defeats (2).
A disastrous roadmap, with the logical consequence of even finding himself in seventh place in the standings, 8 points behind the Cagliari-Roma duo that closes the Champions area. The new technician will therefore have to march strong, on pain of staying out of the next Europe that matters, an eventuality that would cost him the renewal of the contract and the president a real economic bath. Put like this, it would seem like a rather dark scenario, but if you look closely, Napoli have everything to recover, starting with a rich and competitive squad, judged by Gattuso himself as "ideal for a 4-3-3". Here, one of the most important aspects of the new course will be precisely the change of form, with the farewell to Ancelotti's never loved (by the players in primis) 4-4-2 by virtue of a system dear to the times of Sarri, with which this team has undoubtedly done the best things.
And then, in addition to more intense training and rougher approaches, no more unlimited turnover: the 7-8 changes Ancelotti had accustomed us to, including the goalkeeper, we will see again, perhaps, in the round of 4 of the Coppa Italia against Perugia friend Oddo, certainly not in the league. Will all this be enough to put a detached and quarrelsome group in order, in open war with the president and, in some of its elements, with their heads on the market? Only time will tell, but certainly Gattuso has already shown Milan that he has the right zest to do it, as well as technical baggage that should not be underestimated. His first Napoli will therefore restart from a 3-3-XNUMX with Meret in goal, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly and Mario Rui in defence, Fabian Ruiz, Allan and Zielinski in midfield, Callejon, Milik and Insigne in attack, with Mertens and Lozano scalping on the bench.
Opposite will be D'Aversa's Parma, one of the happiest notes of this championship, as demonstrated by the last victory in Genoa and, more generally, by the whole journey so far. “I want my parents to go to San Paolo with personality – explained the ducal coach. – If we start with the thought of taking away a point we will most likely come back empty-handed, we have to go on the pitch to try to do our best”. The idea is to try with a game system that mirrors Gattuso's, therefore 4-3-3 with Sepe in goal, Darmian, Iacoponi, Bruno Alves and Gagliolo in the back, Hernani, Brugman and Barillà in the midfield, Kulusevski , Cornelius and Gervinho in the offensive trident. De Laurentiis, who in the meantime has given the go-ahead for the purchase of Amrabat (16 million, he will remain in Verona until June), hopes to see a Napoli in the image and likeness of Ringhio Star, as he renamed in the press conference: the time to dither around in mid-table, in fact, is definitely over.
