UEFA Europa League
Tournament News
Quarter-finals: Second Leg
By: Dan |
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The second leg of the Europa League quarter finals always seems to be alive with possibilities, probably because they occur the day after the Champions League quarter finals when the usual clubs have entrenched their place in the semi finals for another year. The return leg of Hannover 96 – Atletico Madrid was the [...]
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Quarter-Finals: First Leg
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With only eight teams remaining, we have reached the latter stages of this season’s Europa League. It’s wide open, as all of the remaining clubs will harbor realistic dreams of the final in Bucharest on May 9. With only four matches on the schedule, there’s only room for one live broadcast, and today, [...]
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Round of 16: Second Leg
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The Europa League is down to its last eight teams. Manchester United’s visit to Athletic Bilbao was the first match on the slate for US television. To reiterate from last week, the Red Devils can count themselves extremely fortunate to have made the trip to the Basque country only trailing by a 3-2 [...]
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Round of 16: First Leg
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The Europa League now stands at sixteen participants vying for eight spots in the next round. We’ve reached the point in the competition where all the remaining clubs can harbor, at the least, semi-realistic prospects of winning the competition. Atletico Madrid, as they often do, featured in the first live, US television match, [...]
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Round of 32: Second Leg
By: Dan | 4 Comments
The Europa League was whittled down to 16 teams tonight. With the exception of Metalist Kharkiv’s 4-0 demolition of Red Bull Salzburg, the first leg matches were relatively evenly matched, so most teams went into today with at least some semblance of hope. The first US televised match was the return leg of [...]
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Porto Embarrass Themselves
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In case you missed among yesterday’s Champions League matches, Manchester City comprehensively ended Porto’s reign as Europa League title holders (this so awkward to phrase compared to UEFA Cup holders.) It seems that Porto will attempt to leave their mark on this season’s Europa League by exiting in the most undignified manner possible. [...]
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Round of 32: First Leg
By: Dan | 1 Comment
It’s mid-winter, the labyrinthine group stage has been left by the wayside, and we can get down to the business of the Europa League knockout rounds. (Actually, business kicked off on Tuesday thanks to scheduling issues with the Champions League, but you get the point.) Thanks to Manchester United’s failure to progress from their [...]
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Stoke City are ugly. So what?
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In a couple of hours, Stoke City will host Valencia in a Europa League round of 32 match. There’s more hype in the air than usual for a match between a mid table Premier League side and a Spanish club that is not Barcelona and not Real Madrid (that Valencia find themselves reduced to [...]
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Group Stage: Match Day 6 Groups A, B, C, G, H, I
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There definitely wasn’t a whole lot going on in the final batch of group stage matches. There were a couple of spots that would have been up in the air had some extraordinary results taken place, but it was mostly a case of playing out the string, and uneventful progress. Tomorrow’s draw should [...]
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Group Stage: Match Day 6 Groups D, E, F, J, K, L
By: Dan | 2 Comments
Well, the final match day of the Europa League group stage is upon us. With many clubs already qualified, and the Champions League drop-in clubs established (hi Manchester United,) Wednesday and Thursday will mostly be about tying up the few remaining loose ends, and making up the numbers for the rest. Group D: [...]
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Team Blogs
Champions League Again!
After a one year absence Napoli has returned to the Champions League. It's a much deserved return: the Partenopei have been the 2nd best team in Serie A, and need just one more win against Bologna, Siena, or Roma to guarantee a 2nd place finish. I am now officially pro Mazzarri, as the team is playing its best calcio at the end of the year which is what you need to compete for the very top places. Sure, the Europa League and Coppa Italia were sacrificed along the way, but it will be worth it next season when we see the team play against the best European clubs. This forum has been very critical of Mazzarri at times, and I've often been the one leading the way. But a 2nd place finish is the best this team can achieve right now, and it's Mazzarri who has the ragazzi playing up to the the fullest potential.
May 06, 2013 | Read this article...
Napoli vs. Inter
Roma's win over Fiorentina gave Napoli's Champions League hopes a big boost: the Viola can get a maximum of 9 points the rest of the way, which would give them 70 for the season. Napoli currently have 69 and a win over Inter would guarantee a top 3 finish. But there is still a big difference between 2nd and 3rd: the 3rd place team will have a qualifying round before they can enter the group stages of the Champions League. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but Napoli's record in two game aggregate contests in Europe the last three years has been 0-3 with losses to Villarreal, Chelsea, and Viktoria Plzen. Napoli does well in the group stages of each competition, but can't get past the first hurdle after that.
May 05, 2013 | Read this article...
Pescara vs. Napoli
Pescara has fallen down to last place and while they're not mathematically relegated yet, they are basically preparing for life in Serie B next season. The welcome Napoli with a depleted roster: Gaetano d'Agostino, Per Koldrup, Vladimir Weiss, and Juan Quintero are all missing. Those aren't exactly household names in the soccer world but it represents some of Pescara's best talent. In fact, Hamsik's countryman Weiss is tied for the team lead in goals with.... 4? Unless I've done some bad research nobody on Pescara has scored more than 4 goals this season. The other 4 goal man on Pescara is the Swedish U-21 winger Mervan Celik. Even without the banned Cavani, Napoli are still fielding 5 players with 5 goals or more: Hamsik, Dzemaili, Inler, Pandev, and Insigne. On paper, this one is a bit of a mismatch.
Apr 27, 2013 | Read this article...
Napoli vs. Cagliari
De Sanctis and Campagnaro out? Could be worse: Cagliari are missing Daniele Conti and Mauricio Pinilla. The Romanista Conti traditionally plays great games against Napoli, while the Chilean striker is one of Cagliari's hottest players. No doubt Cagliari is one of the in-form teams in the league right now, but take out two of their starters and like most provincial clubs depth is not one of their strongest points. Still, Cagliari are unbeaten in 5 matches and have some impressive victories in that span: 3-1 over Samp, 2-1 over Fiorentina, and 2-0 over Inter. But all of those wins came at home, while their last road win was 2-0 over last placed Pescara back in February. Once again, everything is in place for a routine Napoli home win. But the Partenopei like to succeed the difficult way much of the time.
Apr 19, 2013 | Read this article...
AC Milan vs. Napoli
It's often said that Napoli fans expect too much of the team, but all I'm hoping for here is a draw that would keep the 4 point gap between 2nd and 3rd. Having said that, it can be dangerous to play for a draw. This one is an interesting tactical matchup - Milan play 4-3-3, a formation that has given Napoli lots of trouble in the past. The two wingers, which will probably be El Sharaawy and Niang, can stretch the outside defenders, in Napoli's case Campagnaro and Britos. The other option is keeping the wingbacks deeper but then you're basically playing a 5-3-2 which makes it difficult for Maggio and Zuniga to get involved in the offensive side of the game.
Apr 14, 2013 | Read this article...
Napoli vs. Genoa
It's hard to believe it, but Genoa are in serious danger of going down. In fact, if not for Siena's 6 point penalty the Grifone would be in the relegation zone and 5 points back of Siena. Instead, it's the Tuscan side in the last relegation spot, but only 1 point behind Genoa. The numbers points to a routine Napoli win. Genoa have won only twice on the road this season, while Napoli have lost only once at home. Last season this fixture ended 6-1 for Napoli. And Napoli has no real injury problems, with Campagnaro and De Sanctis returning after picking up knocks on international duty. The only concern is Behrami who is a diffidato ahead of the showdown with AC Milan next week.
Apr 05, 2013 | Read this article...
Torino vs. Napoli
De Sanctis - Campagnaro, Canna, Gamberini - Maggio, Inler, Behrami, Zuniga - Hamsik - Pandev, Cavani
We all remember the first meeting this season between the teams. Napoli was on course for a 1-0 win until Aronica, who had entered the game as a sub just minutes earlier, gave Torinto a breakaway with a blind pass back to De Sanctis. This time I would be happy as long as the game isn't given away like that.
Season Reflections
With an international break interrupting Serie A, I thought I'd offer some reflections on the season so far. It's not yet over, but enough has happened that we can look at the bigger picture a little bit. Thus far Napoli has competed in 3 competitions: Serie A, Europa League, and Coppa Italia. Only one of these, Serie A, can be considered a success. More after the jump.
Mar 26, 2013 | Read this article...
Napoli vs. Atalanta
Has it really been 7 matches without a win for Napoli? Serie A has been 4 draws and 1 loss, while Europa League has been 2 losses. True, there have been some difficult games in there, but in the first half of the season Napoli was winning those difficult games. It seems other teams have figured Napoli out, or Napoli has lost their sharpness, or a combination of both. I was going to write that Napoli competed well in all 7 of those games, but then I remember Chievo last week and the two games against Viktoria, and in those 3 losses Napoli has been outscored 7-0. Those are diffciult numbers to look at if you're a Napoli fan. But just as a precious 2-0 away win at Siena kicked off a good run of from in January, a win at home to Atalanta can turn things around once again.
Mar 16, 2013 | Read this article...
Chievo Verona vs. Napoli
I really don't know what to say about this game. I mean, Napoli have to win to keep pace with Juve and to hold off AC Milan. But other than a must-win game I can't find very much of interest. Canna is suspended and Britos is injured leaving a defence of Campagnaro-Rolando-Gamberini. I'm not sure if that trio has ever played together before.
Mar 09, 2013 | Read this article...
Napoli vs. Juventus
Mazzarri said in the pre match press conference that this is not a decisive game for the title, but if Juve wins it begs the question who can catch them? Napoli is winless in 5 matches if you inlcude the Europa League embarrassment, and if we can't get something out of the Juve match you'd have to start thinking that Lazio and AC Milan are just as likely to make up 9+ points on the bianconeri. So while it's not a must win for Napoli, it's a match that cannot be lost. Juventus is in a comfortable position - no matter what happens they will still be 3, 6, or 9 points ahed of their nearest rival for the scudetto. Mazzarri is correct that the season is far from over though, as Napoli still have trips to AC Milan and Roma to come plus a home game against Inter. It's not quite squeaky bum time, but with less than 1/3 of the season left it's getting pretty close.
Feb 28, 2013 | Read this article...
Udinese vs. Napoli
Udinese have only lost 7 matches all season, the same number as AC Milan, Lazio, and Fiorentina. And at the Stadio Friuli they've only lost once in 12 matches. It's really their road form which is keeping them down the table in 9th place. So this is comparable to the Parma match where Napoli have to find a way to win in an arena where almost nobody has won this season (Parma have now lost another at home.) Oh, and just four days later there's the game of the season against Juventus. If Napoli can only draw against Udinese, they will enter Friday's game six points back of Juve, which at this point in the season would make Friday a must win game. This could be the defining week of Napoli's season for better or worse.
Feb 24, 2013 | Read this article...
Viktoria Plzen vs. Napoli
Mazzarri has said that Napoli will honour the Europa League, but all signs point to as many starters as possible being rested for Udinese on Monday. I think Mazzarri would have taken this approach whatever the result of the first leg at the San Paolo. As for the second leg, people talk of a near impossible task but a 3-0 win for a road team isn't that unusual. After all, Viktoria Plzen managed it in the first leg. But they made the most of their few chances, and Napoli will need to make the most of theirs on Thursday.
Feb 20, 2013 | Read this article...
Napoli vs. Sampdoria
Insigne has recovered from his flu and is being tipped to start instead of Pandev. Pablo Armero is also a good candidate to start in place of Zuniga.
De Sanctis - Campagnaro, Canna, Britos - Maggio, Inler, Behrami, Armero - Hamsik, Insigne - Cavani
Napoli vs. Viktoria Plzen
Insigne has pulled out of the squad with an illness. Pandev takes his place in the starting lineup, while Rolando makes his debut appearance for Napoli as il capitano is rested. Maggio also returns from injury.
De Sanctis - Gamberini, Rolando, Britos - Maggio, Donadel, Dzemaili, El Kaddouri, Zuniga - Pandev, Cavani
Lazio vs. Napoli
3rd vs. 2nd... I think this one counts as a big match no? Christian Maggio returns from a broken hand to play, and Hernanes is tipped to start after getting concussed about a week ago. Make no mistake, this is a game where nothing is held back, and everything is given on the pitch. The last time Napoli was in Rome it was May and a memorable Coppa Italia triumph followed. This time Napoli are retracing their steps in the hope of a similar outcome. It won't be easy as Lazio is having a great campaign. At home they are particularly tough racking up 9 wins in 12 matches, but Napoli will be up for the challenge.
Feb 08, 2013 | Read this article...
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