Napoli beat Juventus. They BEAT THEM UP. This could have and SHOULD HAVE been about four or five. For most of the match, Napoli were all over Juventus like a bad rash. They out-hustled, out-fought, and out-muscled Juventus. Without the bulldog of Tevez, Juventus's attack was non-existent, but their overall play was just too poor and Napoli can REALLY take heart from a victory that could help them for next season.
When I wrote up about my preview for this match, I talked about the league being over and it is STILL OVER. Juventus should close this out within the next few games. But what I talked about was for Benitez to see how far his team was from Juventus...how wide was the gap. The answer? Not wide at all, and it's fairly simple what they need to do to take Juventus all the way....A BIGGER SQUAD.
This match showed that Juventus are really not that much better than Napoli, and the reason why the gap is so wide is because of Juventus's CONSISTENCY and their great, and deep squad. Conte talked of Benitez outspending Juventus this season, but in all honesty, what I see there is a really good first team, but a squad that is THIN.
SQUADS WIN LEAGUES, TEAMS WIN CUPS.
Conte is a brilliant coach, but he is still learning, as has been shown by his lack of success in the Champions League and inability to win the league AND the cup. But, he cannot deny that he has a DEEP squad that is perfectly suited for a league campaign. Even though they will go on to win the Scudetto which they deserve, it has to have Juve fans worry that up against a really good team, away from home in a one-off match...they seem to struggle. It happened against Roma who knocked them out of the Coppa Italia and now against Napoli who seemed VERY determined to win in front of their home fans. Conte will need to get this right if he is to elevate Juventus from merely just winning a rather uncompetitive league.
Lastly, I think that Prandelli has to already make flight arrangements with some Brazilian playmates if need be for Lorenzo Insigne. This boy BETTER be on a FIRST CLASS flight to Brazil.
He is one of Italy's brightest talents, and that ball to Callejon and just his bravery when running with the ball and his natural ability will make him a VERY exciting and dangerous player that Italy will need when they face Uruguay, England and Costa Rica.
Boy can BALL!
HH
