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Napoli - Rising back to the top

My first story - hope you enjoy!
Started on 30 September 2012 by Moppy666
Latest Reply on 14 October 2012 by Glenn T
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http://uefaclubs.com/images/[email protected]

31 year old manager, Will Koerner has extended his contract another year with Napoli and is beginning his 2nd season off the back of his remarkable and unexpected title win in his first campaign in 2016/17. With Champions League football now on the cards you’d think it would be even tougher to replicate it again. The media obviously think so and have given the club a predicted finish of 6th.

Koerner’s management history:

CCM:

Koerner began his career with the Central Coast Mariners in the Hyundai A-league. He was at the helm there for 4 seasons, where he won the league on each occasion and managed to win the Asian Champions League. He decided to resign from the job after the 4th season and was eventually picked up by Sunderland.

Sunderland:

The season Will Koerner took over, the media had designated the club doomed for relegation and predicted them to finish 20th. Koerner’s boys just escaped relegation on the final day of the season, resulting in a 16th placed finish. Soon after, though, he had a falling out with the board and decided to resign.

Napoli:

That summer Koerner applied for the job at Napoli, where Walter Mazzari had just been sacked, following an extremely poor 14th place finish. The application ended up successful and Koerner got straight to work. The club was predicted a 13th place finish but after a fine run of 9 straight wins that kicked off the season brilliantly, his side never looked back and led for nearly the whole campaign. A week after the League was completed, Napoli did the double after a lucky 2-1 win over Internazionale. Gylfi Sigurdsson, the club’s captain was named Serie A player of the season after the attacking midfielder scored 21 goals and provided 15 assists.
Moppy666's avatar Group Moppy666
12 yearsEdited
Pre-Season

Results:

Napoli V Sporting: 1-1

Napoli V Le Poire-sur-vie VF: 3-0

Napoli V Xerez: 1-0

Napoli V Cagliari: 2-2

Napoli V AC Milan: 4-1


Transfers:

My first transfer of the summer was a 17 year old Centre Mid/Defensive Mid for 1.5 million, going by the name of Raul Kuhn. He has some good stats already and will certainly get a few games this season. He adds good depth to the midfield.



Next was 23 year old striker, Lenny Nangis. I got this guy at a bargain price of 1.1 million due to his club getting relegated and therefore, having to sell at a cut price.. I was delighted with this deal, especially because he was runner up in the Ligue 1 goal scoring last season.



3rd was Antonio Carnevale. He's a 19 year old centre-back but he can also play on the right and left side of defence. He was signed for 2.2 million from Parma. Again, I think he's another one with good potential and also gives great depth to defence because he can play in all 3 positions that I use.



Lastly, I signed a RB. Andrew Olalekan will generally be my first team RB. He's not brilliant but should be solid once he settles in. At the age of 24, I think 3.5 million was quite a decent price.




And a transfer summary:




Review:

Overall, it was a good pre-season. We went undefeated in the friendlies which was encouraging, with the 4-1 over Milan a standout. In the transfer market everything went well. I got all the deals I wanted done and got rid of everyone I wanted. Let's hope for a positive start to the season.
I love anything and everything Napoli! Will follow for sure. Good luck!
Haha, thanks. I have played through September so I might do a September update soon. If not, I'll be doing it tomorrow

September:


Ahead of the first competitive match of the season, here is the assistant manager's team report:



This is the formation I used last season and I'll continue to use it again this season:




16th September, 2017

Serie A new boys, Bologna, host last season's champions, Napoli, in the season opener for both clubs.



A good way to kick off the campaign. We passed it around alright, created good chances and were generally on top. Good start.


20th September, 2017

The first match of the Champions League has arrived. Ajax host the Partenopei to start the group stages for Group H, which is made up of Marseille, Porto, Ajax and Napoli.



This one turned out to be a very poor result and while play was fairly even, we struggled to carve out clear cut chances. In the end, we conceded 2 sloppy goals - the penalty was a needless one and the other was a poor bit of marking from a corner.


23rd September, 2017

Napoli are home to another newly promoted team. This time it's ChievoVerona. A comfortable win is expected, so Napoli should go 2 wins from 2.



A comfortable 2-0 win, which was made even more comfortable by the sending off of Joel Campell. We completely dominated and hardly gave them a sniff at goal. The only minus was an injury to Richard Zlamal, who is predicted to be out for 4-6 weeks.


27th September, 2017

Napoli visit Varese in the 3rd league encounter of the season and have been touted comfortable favourites. The winning streak should continue.



A superb hat-trick from Super Mario stole the show as Napoli smashed Varese 3-0. The possession was even but we made much greater use of ours and with good passing, we created many more opportunities and grabbed a deserved win.


30th September, 2017

Catania make the journey to Naples to play Napoli in another Serie A encounter. Again, the Partenopei are easy favourites.



Dogged defending and a midfield constricting Napoli's room to play saw Catania come out with a share in the spoils which must count as a disappointment for Koerner's lads. At least Lenny Nangis opened his account for the club with a late equalizer but apart from that, there wasn't much to cheer about. Also, Alex Teixeira's injury is a big blow for the club. He's out for 4-5 months.


Review:

Overall, a solid month. The league went fairly well, we're undefeated so that's good. We haven't faced a big challenge in the league yet though, and it was a bit disappointing to not grab all 4 wins against teams that were pretty much relegation candidates. The result against Ajax was a big blow as I don't think they'll be the strongest contenders in our group. It's only one match, though and I'm sure we'll improve and with the draw we have, I'm confident of getting to the knockout rounds. From there, we'll see.

To finish off, here's the league table:

where are cavani and hamsik???
They're both long gone. Before I came to manage here, Cavani was sold to Juve and Hamsik to Liverpool.

October:


Let's get straight into the matches.

4th October, 2017

In the first fixture of October, Marseille make their way to the San Paolo for the 2nd Champions League fixture.



Good result and a fair result going by both play and chances. Lenny Nangis is on the score sheet again. Overall, a good win and one that we definitely needed. You need to do well with your home games and we've done just that.


7th October, 2017

Napoli meet Cagliari in the 5th Serie A match of the season and it should be a good encounter. Cagliari have decent form but their defence has been a bit shaky.



We took the lead early and it's always disappointing to give it up late as we did today. We could've killed it off early while we were dominating but couldn't score more than 1 and it probably cost us all 3 points. While they didn't have many shots, we gave them too many clear cut chances and Mbaye Niang finally scored one with not long to play. Nangis continues to impress with another goal, though our main man Sigurdsson seems a bit short of form at the moment.


21 October, 2017

We're back from the international break to face our toughest challenge in the league so far. Roma are the next team to venture to the San Paolo.



Not the best of performances and while we profited from their wasteful finishing I'd take a win and a clean sheet any day of the week. Our passing was pretty good but we didn't translate it into clear cut chances. It was Balotelli who popped up with the goal today that found the win.


25 October, 2017

It's another Champions League fixture and this one marks the halfway point in the group stages. Napoli meet Porto in what should be another exciting match.



Great result here. We opened up their defence numerous times with some excellent counter attacking down the flanks and while our passing through the middle was broken up well by the opposition, we didn't let them get too close to goal and they hardly created any great chances. First, Ashley Young headed home from the back post and then Nangis scored a wonder goal. Starting from the half way line, he skinned several defenders and found himself running down the wings before cutting inside and applying a brilliant finish that went in off the far post. Then, he idiotically got himself sent off and he's out for the rest of the group stages. :|


28 October, 2017

In the final fixture of the month, Napoli meet Sampordia in Genoa in what is expected to be a fairly even encounter.



We played on the counter today and in the end it eventually paid off with a goal coming from exactly that. Our defenders did fairly well, and Areola was good in goals as usual. As in the Roma game, I'll take the 3 points anyday. We made them pay for their lapse in concentration as the match was nearing an end, just when it looked like it was heading for a goal-less draw.


League Table:




Champions League group:




Monthly Review:

Fixtures have been coming thick and fast in the first 2 months and rotation has been crucial. Given the amount of rotation, I think we've faired quite well. Still undefeated in the league and only conceding 3 goals is great. The 2 champions league wins were great, too, because if we dropped many or even any from those home games it would've been tough to qualify from the group stages. The defence has been a good foundation so far and I think now it's time to work on our attacking qualities as the goals haven't been free-flowing. Happy with the season so far, it's been good fun. Hopefully I'll get another update in tomorrow with the November results.
Nice story mate, doing real well! Can you post Xulu's profile attribute things please :)
Thanks mate. I'll include it in the next update for you.
Cheers:)

November:



1 November, 2017

We head into another crucial month in the season, filled with 6 matches and an international break in between.
First up, a big test in the Serie A. AC Milan head to the San Paolo and having dealt with them earlier in the season in a friendly, we will be hoping to do it again.



A brilliant result. Gyfli Sigurdsson an easy man of the match for a brilliant performance and I'm hoping that this is the big confidence booster he needed to return to the destructive form of last season. It was quite an open match and fairly even, too. We took our chances, though and Gylfi's early goal put us in a great position to come away with a win.


4 November, 2017

We're back on the road and this time we face a mid-table Torino. A win is expected but not guaranteed. Also, Hichem Mhadhebi faces us for the first time since I sold him at the start of the season.



Another good performance and good result. Comfortable win while Sigurdsson continues his way back to form. The scoreline just about represents the amount of good chances created. Very pleased with this one. This is our 4th clean sheet in a row in league fixtures and we still remain unbeaten.


8 November, 2017

The Champions League passes the halfway point when we travel out to Portugal to face FC Porto. We managed a win on home soil; can we do it again?



A shocking result. We conceded 2 and failed to score ourselves while they were down to 10 men. We couldn't control the game as I would've liked, despite being a man up and conceded from 2 good counter attacks. A very disappointing effort and in hindsight, I probably got some tactical calls wrong. Hopefully the team doesn't dwell on it.


11 November, 2017

We're back in the comfort of our home this time and Atalanta has come to visit. They made a very good start but have lost their last 2 matches. Hoping to make it 3.



Another great performance and that now makes in 5 league games won in a row and all of them have come with clean sheets. They never really threatened our goal. Balotelli and Sigurdsson score again, just as they did against Torino. A good response to the midweek disappointment.


25 November, 2017

Home again and this time we host a good Fiore team, who take up 3rd position in the league. They've been in good form recently so this will be a tough match but of course, with any home game, we're wanting a win.



Fanchone decided to end our run of clean sheets early by nodding into his own net and a reply took until just before the hour mark to come. Sigurdsson whipped in a free kick into a good area and when the ball fell to young CB Carnevale, he volleyed home from close range. His first goal for the club. Fiore regained the lead later but with a clear foul in the build up missed, we had some right to feel aggrieved. We again came back from behind when Xhaka hit one home from 18 yards. I'm happy that we kept coming from behind but I felt we could've had a win today.


28 November, 2017

A rare 3rd consecutive home game and it's the 2nd last fixture of the CL group stages. With the qualification spots close in a very even group, a loss is a definite no.



After they scored from a set piece and us not taking our chances, I thought we may have been going down the path to defeat. This was until the substitute, Sigurdsson popped up with a moment of magic. He skinned a fullback and started to cut inside before unexpectedly striking at goal. He was outside the box on the left short side and with his right foot he blasted the ball into the top left hand corner. Zlamal (back from injury) then tried to equal this effort by scoring with another long shot but while still being a great goal, it didn't quite equal Gylfi's. A good comeback win from the boys, showing good team spirit.


That's the month done, so here's the league table:




Monthly review:

Another solid month. The Porto defeat was the only minus. I'm still top of the league and undefeated and 3 wins and a draw is a good month considering we had a few tougher teams. Crossing to the CL, mixed results. The Porto result, as mentioned earlier, was a big disappointment because of how they went a man down. Ajax was really good and that means we've won all of our home games. We are in a good position to qualify but it's not certain. Marseille in France is a tough last game, too.


And also for Liam, here's Xulu.

[spoiler][/spoiler]
Sorry that it's been so long since the latest update. My laptop was uhhh.. misplaced.. for a while. But that story doesn't matter. :P

December


Time to finish off the year. Another exciting month ahead. The champions league group stage wraps up and we have 4 more league matches in the month.


2 December, 2017

The first fixture of the month sees us travel to Udinese who going fairly well at the moment.



In quite an even match, Sigurdsson grabbed a win in the closing stages. I was very happy that we came away with the win because Udinese is always a bit of a challenge. Even though a draw perhaps would've been a fairer result, we put away our golden chance.


9 December, 2017

Novara come to town and we should have no trouble earning a win over a Novara side which is bottom of the table and is a relegation favourite.



Good performance. We smashed them as expected. When they went down to 10 men the goals just flowed. Sigurdsson and Balotelli continue good form.


13 December, 2017

It's the final and a place in the knockout round is all but guaranteed. Napoli travel to Marseille.



Granit Xhaka being an absolute retard put us on the backfoot for virtually the whole match and it shows on the scoreline. Jens Toornstra also got injured for 2-3 months. But we made it through anyway.


16 December, 2017

Another trip away from home. Palermo is the meeting point this time 'round. While they don't have the best of form at the moment, playing over there is never easy.



Some set-piece defending at both ends led to the only goals of the match and while we dominated and had a good amount of shots, there were no clear cut chances in the match. Not a shocking result but dominating the match, I would've liked a win.


23 December, 2017

To round off the month and the year, Lazio venture to the San Paolo where they'll meet the Partenopei. Bubenko was injured prior to the match for 3 weeks.



A great performance where Sigurdsson was once again man of the match in a performance where he dominated the midfield and smashed home a great goal. Young Algerian striker Bouhellal was also in the goals which delighted me. Lazio are a fairly strong side and are in the top half of the table so a comprehensive win was great. Only minus coming from the match was a Balotelli injury for 3-4 months. He was our form striker so it's quite a blow.


Monthly Review:

Another good month which saw us qualify for the knockout rounds of the Champions League and continue our unbeaten league run. I think it's out to 27 now. In the CL we've managed to draw reigning La Liga champions Atletico Madrid (that's right, they toppled Barca and Madrid). Quite a tough draw but we can't be ruled out. In the league we've stretched the lead out to 4 points. Looking good.


League table:

Looks good mate. Interesting Napoli team there. How does Gylfi Sigurdsson, Ashley Young, and your two keepers do for you?
Sigurdsson is amazing, not meant to say this because it's for next update but he won the world player of the year! I picked Ashley Young up on a free before 2016/17 season and he's been really good. He's 32 now but still goes well, he's actually quite consistent. Areola won Serie A keeper of the season year this year and he's very, very solid. Still young, too. Federici is a back up but he's a good one. Doesn't make many errors.

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