My fourth season with Napoli on Championship Manager 3 is reaching a climax… and it’s sure to be a thrilling conclusion.
It’s March 2002, and the Partenopei are on the verge of history. Just 12 matches stand between them and an unbeaten Serie A season – and though they have missed on one cup competition, they’re still in the running for another.
However, a disappointing end to the previous chapter has left Napoli fans feeling nervous about the run-in. Can we bounce back and finish the season with a major trophy, or is there going to be yet more heartache?
MARCH 2002
With a dozen games left to play in the Serie A season, Napoli were four points clear at the top, still undefeated, and on track for a first scudetto since 1990. Sounds good, right? Not when we had failed to score in any of our last four matches – or in five of our last six, for that matter.
This goal drought had cost us a place in the Coppa Italia Final, and we would need to rediscover our scoring touch before our UEFA Cup Quarter Finals against Lazio. That’s a Lazio team who – by the way – we would also face in our next home league match!
Before those battles with the Biancocelesti, we travelled to Genoa to face a Sampdoria side who were hovering just above the relegation zone. If Filippo Inzaghi and Kabba Samura couldn’t find the net in this one, then lord help us.
Neither Inzaghi and Samura could score, no matter how hard our strikers tried… but at least someone did! I had given Stilian Petrov a free role in attacking midfield, and in the 81st minute, he found just enough space to latch onto a blocked Patrik Fredholm shot and fire it home. It was only a 1-0 win, but at least it was better than nothing!
Right, then, Sven Goran Eriksson… what have your boys got?
Stan was the man again early in our UEFA Cup Quarter Final, giving us the lead after just seven minutes. Though Marcelo Salas drew Lazio level just before half-time, we battered the Biancocelesti in the second half – and Inzaghi and Gabriel Bordi gave us a 3-1 lead after the first leg!
But then we blew it at the Olimpico. Salas destroyed us with two early goals, and we offered nothing in response. Knocked out of the UEFA Cup on away goals. I’m so glad they’re getting rid of that stupid rule in 19 years’ time.
In completely unrelated news, Keith Gillespie is never playing for Napoli again. Just get out of here, you hopeless eejit.
(By the way, that regen who was on our bench for the second leg is our third-choice goalkeeper. Steve Collins is 19 years old, and as you can probably guess by the name, he comes from… er, Belgium.)
We did at least beat Sven’s men in the league, as Fabio Cannavaro opened the scoring in a surprisingly comfortable 3-0 home win. That result dealt a huge blow to Lazio’s title chances, but we still had to worry about their eternal rivals Roma…
…especially after they cut our lead to two points the following week. While Francesco Totti was smashing in a hat-trick against Salernitana, we were stumbling to a 1-1 draw at 16th-placed Venezia – even falling behind early on. It didn’t help that we’d lost Bordi, Sebastien Frey and Marco Carparelli to injury, but even a weakened and rotated team should have done better.
And then, in game 26, it finally happened.
Our first Serie A defeat this season – and it came at mid-table Cagliari. Giuseppe Taglialatela put in an appalling goalkeeping display that made we wish Frey’s shoulder would heal faster. Roberto Goretti did halve our 2-0 deficit late on, but it was far too late…
…and to rub more salt into the wound, Roma had recorded their sixth league win in a row. Now they were in pole position to lift a third consecutive scudetto.
One Fuller FM late-season collapse with extra mayonnaise, coming right up!
APRIL 2002
The international break came at a good time, as it allowed Bordi, Carparelli and Frey to recover from their injuries in time for the run-in. It also came at a bad time, because it gave Diego Placente the opportunity to hurt his foot – and Daniel Daino to twist his knee.
That’s two key defenders, both absent for a must-win home game against Piacenza. A game where we had 30 shots, 15 on target, 74% possession… and scored ONE goal. And it was Cannavaro of all people who finally found a way past the greatest super-keeper in Serie A history.
No, I’m not exaggerating. There are super-keepers, and then there’s Andrea Mazzantini.
The choke continued with a 2-0 defeat at Parma, in which the home goalie Gianluigi Buffon played like… well, Andrea Mazzantini. And with Roma winning AGAIN, we now trailed by four points.
We then hosted Fiorentina, and for the THIRD game in the row, the opposition goalkeeper was named man of the match. It was just one of those games again…
…except we WON this time! After a poor start, we fought back with a scorcher from defender Miguel Ángel Soria and a penalty from Inzaghi. We also gained a couple of points back on Roma, whose winning streak was halted by Inter.
In those last three games, we had racked up 30 shots on target and only converted three of them into goals. I tried to freshen our stale tactics up before visiting AC Milan by changing the 3-4-1-2 into a 3-4-2-1 – with Inzaghi playing as a second attacking midfielder behind lone striker Samura. Pippo was quick, versatile and a good passer, so I reckoned he would be up to it.
The tactical change seemed to work. We beat Milan 2-0 with a couple of early goals – an own goal, followed by Samura’s 10th of the season. This time, it was Frey who won ‘man of the match’ in goal for Napoli.
Even better, Roma had been shut out on their own ground by Juventus! Not only were we now level with the champions, but we had edged ahead of them on goal difference!
There were just four games to play – and everything was shaping up for a potential title showdown with Roma at the San Paolo on the penultimate weekend. We were ready to take Fabio Capello’s capital giants all the way, provided we didn’t suffer any more devastating injuries.
MAY 2002
This was exactly what I feared would happen. After 13 goals in 43 games, Inzaghi’s first season at Napoli was over. Bordi and Samura (with 10 goals apiece) would have to lead our attack in the final push.
Though the unbeaten league record had gone up in smoke, we still had the chance to finish the entire season without losing at home. Our penultimate game at the San Paolo was against 10th-placed Torino, who had scored just 24 Serie A goals this season. Claudio Bellucci had scored 18 of them….
…but as soon as his old mate Bordi flew out of the traps, Torino never stood a chance. Carparelli doubled our lead before ‘El Tanque’ struck again to complete one of our easiest wins of the season. Bellucci didn’t even get a sniff at goal.
We were now three points clear… but only because Roma were busy snatching the Coppa Italia from Fiorentina’s grasp. The Giallorossi would play their game in hand at Sampdoria just four days before our title showdown at the San Paolo.
Roma’s next game was an eternal derby against Lazio. Ours was at Genoa, who sat third-from-bottom and were surely heading back to Serie B. We had a strange record against ‘Il Grifone’ – we had drawn four of our last five meetings, but the odd one out was a 5-1 demolition in our favour.
This was not a draw… and neither was it an easy win. After fruitlessly attacking the home goal for half an hour, we were stung by Genoa’s first counter-attack of the game, leaving us 1-0 behind at half-time.
But we eventually got our act together, thanks to a tactical change and a half-time hairdryer. Bordi rallied us to a fantastic second-half comeback before the departing Roberto Murgita scored his first goal of the season (and probably his last for Napoli) and sealed victory.
And man, did we need that! Roma had beaten Lazio 1-0, which meant they would go back level on points with us IF they could see off Sampdoria in midweek…
Francesco Palmieri, you beauty!! Roma had choked – and even better, one of their top scorers had been injured and would miss the showdown!
So… here’s the state of play before we welcomed the champions to the San Paolo. We were three points clear with two games to play. It’s also worth remembering that on CM3, Serie A uses goal difference as the first tie-breaker – not head-to-head records, as it is in real-life.
Victory for Roma would see them close the gap, though they would need to win by at least FIVE goals to overtake us on goal difference. If it finished in a draw, only a shocking final-day collapse could possibly deny us the title. But if Napoli won… we would be the champions with a game to spare.
With that in mind, I switched to a defensive 4-4-2, and tried to frustrate Roma’s superstars as much as possible. Then, after 30 minutes…
Yeah… that’ll do as well, Kabba. Now for heaven’s sake, defend this lead as if your lives depend on it!
60 minutes gone. Still 1-0 up. Please hold on…
Oh, God, I thought we’d finished them off. Just a few more minutes, boys!
Napoli had summoned the spirit of Maradona and won their third scudetto – just three years after returning to Serie A. Missione compiuta!
We finished off the campaign in style by cruising to a sixth consecutive win against relegated Salernitana, even after giving some opportunities to fringe players and youngsters.
Salernitana are sinking straight back down to Serie B along with Genoa, Venezia and Piacenza – and they will be replaced by Lecce, Vicenza, Empoli and Brescia next season.
SEASON REVIEW
There you have it. When I started this save, I gave myself six seasons to lead Napoli back to the top of Serie A. Thanks to Bordi’s brilliance, some shrewd signings and a rock-solid defensive wall, I completed this challenge in just four.
Seems like a good opportunity to take my leave and bow out as a champion, doesn’t it? Actually… no.
Napoli will be in the 2002/2003 Champions League – and of course, we’ll enter straight at the Group Stage. I want to test our mettle against Europe’s elite clubs and see if we can deliver a continental trophy to the San Paolo, just like ‘El Diez’ did in 1989. I also want one last crack at winning the Coppa Italia after reaching back-to-back Semi Finals.
So, next season will be my last one in Naples. One last opportunity to add more silverware to the cabinet before I call this a series. I’ll discuss transfer plans in the next chapter – but in the meantime, let’s take some time to salute our scudetto-winning heroes…
Once again, it was Bordi who led the way for us. The strong and pacey striker returned to something like his best form after breaking into the Argentina squad. He was particularly hot in the run-in and finished on 13 Serie A goals – though he was still five adrift of his old mate Bellucci, who shared the Capocannoniere with Fiorentina’s Ronaldo.
The biggest factor behind our improved goalscoring output, though, was Pippo Inzaghi. He might not have replicated his peak Juventus form yet, but his consistency and physical presence certainly gave the opposition defenders a lot more to think about.
Now we moved on to a couple of men who really kicked on in their second seasons at Napoli. Petrov upped his creative output with six assists, and with his exceptional off-the-ball movement, he has particularly thrived as a roaming attacking midfielder.
Out wide, Boudewijn Zenden has become more dynamic and consistent. Bolo still has the odd stinker, but he racked up 10 assists this season – which is more what I expect from a winger with 20 Crossing and 20 Technique.
The missing pieces of the Napoli puzzle were these two world-class central defenders. Placente became Naples’ second-favourite Diego with his strong tackling, excellent positioning, and calmness on the ball. Though his morale can fluctuate, Placente has a long-term place in my backline.
So too does the returning local hero Fabio Cannavaro. We poached him from Parma for just £3million in January, and he rewarded us with some excellent performances to see our title challenge through.
Cannavaro’s arrival ousted the unfortunate Gaetano De Rosa from the starting line-up – but ironically, Gaetano has been called up to Italy’s World Cup squad at Fabio’s expense! The talented right-back Daino has also been selected for the Azzurri, despite a recent slump in form.
So that’s a wrap for a historic 2001/2002 season at Napoli. The scudetto is ours, but can we successfully defend it next year? And just how far can this team go in the Champions League?
PLAYER STATISTICS
| NAME | APPS | CON | ASTS | YC [RC] | MOM | AVE |
| Sebastien Frey | 33 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6.67 |
| Giuseppe Taglialatela | 18 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.72 |
| NAME | APPS | GLS | ASTS | YC [RC] | MOM | AVE |
| Francesco Baldini | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.67 |
| Emiliano Bigica | 38 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 6.68 |
| Antonio Bocchetti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Gabriel Bordi | 35 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7.31 |
| Fabio Cannavaro | 23 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7.30 |
| Paolo Cannavaro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Marco Carparelli | 36 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6.69 |
| Francesco Coco | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6.91 |
| Daniel Daino | 36 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6.83 |
| Gaetano De Rosa | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 [1] | 0 | 6.58 |
| Patrik Fredholm | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.20 |
| Keith Gillespie | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.08 |
| Roberto Goretti | 17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6.47 |
| Giuseppe Imburgia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Filippo Inzaghi | 43 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7.28 |
| Pierre Laigle | 38 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 6.53 |
| Aitor Larrazábal | 17 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.71 |
| Giovanni Lopez | 25 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.48 |
| Michel | 30 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6.63 |
| Nicola Mora | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Stefano Morrone | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6.50 |
| Roberto Murgita | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.22 |
| Stilian Petrov | 29 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 7.28 |
| Diego Placente | 33 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 6.94 |
| Fabio Rossitto | 26 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6.69 |
| Kabba Samura | 30 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 7.27 |
| Miguel Ángel Soria | 31 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6.58 |
| Francisco Javier Tevenet | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Boudewijn Zenden | 33 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 6.91 |
That was a long chapter, but I hope it’s been worth it. Napoli are champions of Serie A!
I’ll be back on Friday to kick off my fifth and FINAL season at the San Paolo, when all Neapolitan eyes will be on the biggest prize of them all – the Champions League!
Thanks for reading.
Fuller FM 