CM3 Revisited: Canzone Napoletana – Part 9

Published on by Chris Fuller

This is Season 3, Part 3 of “Canzone Napoletana” – and it’s perhaps the biggest chapter of this Championship Manager 3 series so far.

Midway through the 2000/2001 season, it looked like Napoli were on track for an impressive Serie A and Coppa Italia double. But just two miserable months later, and the Partenopei are under severe pressure just to stay in the European places!

Several questions will be answered in this season finale. Will a change of tactic deliver a change in fortunes? Can a misfiring Gabriel Bordi rediscover his golden touch? And when will Sebastien Frey learn how to use his gloves properly?

MARCH 2001

Napoli were in a spot of bother. Our first 11 games in 2001 had seen us pick up just six goals and three wins. With another 11 games still to play, we were now desperately clinging onto our place in the top six – and a potential UEFA Cup spot.

Having used a number of tactics to try and improve our productivity, I had now decided on a new system. In place of the flat back four, I adopted an Italian-style three-man defence – and beefed up the midfield with an extra man behind the front two.

This switch was potentially good news for our right-backs, as Daniel Daino and Miguel Ángel Soria were both capable of playing in central defence as well. Our left-backs… not so much.

The 3-4-1-2 would make its premiere against none other than the league leaders – Sven Goran Eriksson’s Lazio (he didn’t leave to become England boss in this universe). I wasn’t expecting instant results, but at the very least an improvement on the 4-0 tonking at Juventus’ hands last time out.

1-1. Eh, that’s good enough for me.

Obviously, Lazio opened the scoring from their first shot on target… because Sebastien Frey. Just as well that Claudio Bellucci bailed him out with a fantastic free-kick just before half-time. Bellucci had now scored nine goals this season, which was eight more than he got last term!

Was that a sign of better results to come?

No. We drew 1-1 at 16th-placed Brescia as well… because Sebastien Frey. Yet another 5/10 performance from the fella who is supposed to be the best young goalkeeper on Championship Manager 3!

I was so fed up with Frey at this point that I wanted to fine him four weeks’ wages. Then I remembered that CM3 was the last game in the series (until Football Manager 2024) where you couldn’t fine players for poor performances.

One man who was back in form, though, was Gabriel Bordi. Having scored our goal at Brescia, ‘El Tanque’ followed that up with what proved to be the winner against high-flying Parma.

Eight games remaining. We were still in 5th, but with the two Turin clubs breathing down our necks, we needed to build up some more momentum.

APRIL 2001

The new tactic had shown some tentative promise, but the 4-4-2 still had its merits. I went back to the Full English approach ahead of a tough trip to Fiorentina, who were somehow only in mid-table despite the presence of a certain Brazilian superstar.

The good news: we took the lead three times. The bad news: we lost the lead three times. Cheers, Ronnie.

Juventus had now overtaken us, meaning we were down to 6th – the last automatic place in the UEFA Cup. Having failed to win any of our last five away matches, we now faced another daunting day on the road… or, should I say, on the ferry to Sardinia.

Another draw was the best we could really hope for at Cagliari. Frey was back in goal once again for that one, so quite frankly, him keeping a clean sheet felt like a miracle… but then he kept another at home to Sampdoria!

After just six minutes, our captain Giovanni Lopez got into an argument with his old friend Stefan Schwoch about whether Kraftwerk were more influential on electronic music than Giorgio Moroder. Schwoch headbutted G-Lo, got himself sent off, and then watched on from the dressing room as Bordi earned us another narrow victory.

How important would that be in the final reckoning? Juventus had fallen 2-0 to a rampant Roma team who were now surging towards another scudetto, so we were up to 5th again!

Bordi’s hot streak continued with a fifth goal in six games, before a 90th-minute Bellucci penalty put Bari to bed. We now needed just one more victory to ensure we had at least some form of European football next season. Bring on Internazionale…

What the hell are you smiling about, sonny boy?

Ah, that’s just so bloody typical, that is! As soon as Frey had started to find some form, he had busted his shoulder and was basically finished for the season. You had better not let us down, Giuseppe Taglialatela.

Right… NOW we can bring on Internazionale. I’ve deliberately hidden the result in that fixtures screenshot above, just so I can let you guess the scoreline.

Come on. Have a guess.

Didn’t expect that, did you?

To be fair, I had switched back to the 4-4-2 for that game, and our wingers wreaked havoc on Javier Clemente’s narrow 5-3-2. Inter’s goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was so distraught at full-time that he legally changed his name to Jens Mustermann.

MAY 2001

Three games to go. At the very worst, we were now guaranteed a top-eight finish – and a place in the Inter-Toto Cup. We now needed a maximum of FOUR more points to book our tickets to the UEFA Cup… and we could even wrap them up after our next away game at Torino.

Or perhaps not.

That was still a fifth clean sheet in a row, but it really shouldn’t have been. Our defence was far too open, and Torino wasted several great chances to take the lead. Even when Ilia Ivic did eventually find the net in injury time, we were only let off by the offside flag.

Let’s try again. Our last match at the San Paolo this season was against Roma, who had now wrapped up a second consecutive scudetto. Unfortunately, Bordi was out with a wrist injury, which wasn’t ideal at all…

And oh boy, did we miss him. Bellucci’s a good striker in his own right, and young Kabba Samura is developing very nicely, but they’re not quite on the same level as Montella and Totti. Well… Samura isn’t yet.

I’d been beaten by Fabio Capello once again. Stuff Postman Pat. And stuff his black-and-white cat as well.

So it wasn’t quite over yet. 7th-placed Fiorentina were only three points behind us with one game to play. If we slipped up at second-from-bottom Lecce on the final day, and the Viola won their final game at Milan, then they and Inter would each have the chance to overtake us.

All we had to do was stay calm, stick to the plan, and make sure we didn’t somehow lose against the second-worst team in the division. Nice and simple… right?

ARGHHHHHHHHHH!!! YOU BLOODY INCOMPETENT BUNCH OF UTTER, UTTER, UTT-

Phew. Inter had defeated Bari late on and taken 5th place, but Fiorentina had screwed up just enough to let us keep hold of 6th. By the skin of our teeth.

Brescia, Vicenza, Lecce (grrr) and Verona (LOL) had all been cut adrift several weeks before the season ended, so they were heading back down to Serie B. Coming up next season would be Venezia, Salernitana, Genoa and Piacenza.

Roma would be joined in next season’s Champions League by their bitter rivals Lazio. Fiorentina had won their second Coppa in three years, and thus would enter the Cup Winners’ Cup again.

But most importantly, Napoli had done just enough to qualify for the 2001/2002 UEFA Cup. We are among FIVE Italian teams in that competition, along with Parma, Juventus, Inter… and Cagliari, who surprisingly beat Lazio in this year’s Final! Sardines for everyone!

SEASON REVIEW

The board wanted a respectable finish. I wanted a place in Europe. Though another push for greater things ended in disappointment, we have to be satisfied when all’s said and done.

This has definitely been an improvement on our last Serie A campaign – one more goal scored, three fewer conceded, and nine more points collected. I just wish we had been more clinical against AC Milan in the Coppa Italia Semi Finals, especially as most of the other big guns had gone out early. That felt like a winnable competition to me.

If we do want to pick up some silverware next season, we will have to improve on our goalscoring output. Serie A is a notoriously low-scoring league (Juventus and Roma were the only teams to get 50+ goals this term), but finding the net 39 times in 34 games won’t get you anywhere near the scudetto.

And though it’s pretty close to nit-picking, I hope we can become more consistent away from home next term. We won only five times on the road – compared to champions Roma, who triumphed in twice as many away outings. (They were also pretty sharp on their own ground, only conceding THREE away goals at the Olimpico, but I digress…)

Let’s now look at our top performers this season… and unsurprisingly, Bordi leads the way once again. 11 goals and a 7.28 average rating are nowhere near his peak figures, but a strong end to the season gives me hope that he can return to that level. And who knows – maybe he’ll finally get his first Argentina cap very soon?

However, it was actually his friend Bellucci who finished as our top scorer, reaching a dozen goals in what was something of a renaissance season. Roberto Murgita had a decent campaign as a target man/impact sub, scoring seven goals.

By contrast, Patrik Fredholm could only manage three Coppa Italia goals – and none in the league. The Swede’s time with us is probably coming to an end.

Gaetano De Rosa had a rocky start to his Napoli comeback, but he has been a defensive rock in his second season with me. Powerful in the air and tacically astute, he has now usurped Lopez as a regular starter – and is probably a contender to take his captain’s armband as well. If either Fabio or Sven wants him in the summer, they’d better bring a huge pot of cash.

And after signing Boudewijn Zenden as our new left-winger last summer, who’d have thought that our top assister would be his supposed backup? While Bolo has blown hot and cold, Michel has made more impact in fewer games – setting up four goals apiece in the league and the Coppa. Credit is also due to the similarly resurgent Marco Carparelli, who made 10 goal contributions on the right wing.

I’m now halfway through my Napoli project – and having secured European qualification, my last challenge is to build a team that can contend for top honours. I think we’re now about four or five high-quality signings away from being worthy scudetto challengers.

Despite Frey’s fragilities, I’m going keep faith in the young goalkeeper, and instead focus on improving the defensive unit ahead of him. I’m now looking for another centre-back worthy of partnering De Rosa, and a new left-back to replace the ageing Amadeo Carboni.

Another holding midfielder is also on my shopping list, along with a right-winger whose name isn’t Keith Gillespie. Most importantly, we need another elite striker – specifically, a big and strong centre-forward who can be the perfect foil to our pacey frontman Bordi. (In other words… like Murgita, but better. And younger.)

PLAYER STATISTICS

NAMEAPPSCONASTSYC [RC]MOMAVE
Sebastien Frey22160006.55
Giuseppe Taglialatela20150026.50
NAMEAPPSGLSASTSYC [RC]MOMAVE
Francesco Baldini2500406.44
Giacomo Banchelli100006.00
Claudio Bellucci28122287.18
Emiliano Bigica3204706.50
Gabriel Bordi32111247.28
Amadeo Carboni1900106.37
Marco Carparelli3246106.78
Francesco Coco3101216.65
Daniel Daino3600106.61
Gaetano De Rosa2931607.14
Patrik Fredholm1430006.50
De Paula Gerson100006.00
Keith Gillespie1920006.42
Roberto Goretti1312016.31
Giovanni Lopez2911706.45
Michel2508036.80
Stefano Morrone2001216.40
Roberto Murgita2771147.22
Emanuele Pesaresi400006.00
Stilian Petrov2211116.68
Fabio Rossitto312312 [1]16.74
Kabba Samura1012106.50
Miguel Ángel Soria2101116.57
Boudewijn Zenden3236026.69

Three seasons down… possibly three more to go?

Can Napoli continue their upward trajectory and launch a serious challenge for Serie A glory in 2001/2002? Tune in next week for the start of season 4!