Saroy's Guide to Napoli (11.3 Patch)
Hello and welcome to Saroy's Guide to Napoli, edited for the latest patch, where you will find all you need to know about Napoli and help you manage them. You may want to follow your own instint when it comes to the things discussed later, but I am just offering you a guidline on how to get the best out of the players of Napoli.
Why choose to manage Napoli?
The main reason for why I believe Napoli are one of the best teams to manage in Football Manager is because of the potential they have. After being promoted from Serie C1/B in 2006 and again from Serie B into the first division the following year, they have definitely become a strong squad and in my opinion, a contender for the Serie A title (look at how they're currently doing in real life if you don't agree with me), however you'll need to understand the team very well for that to happen. They are an ambitious squad with some key players for the team and with their unorthodox formation, they can produce the unexpected, but there are some problems in certain areas which this guide will help you with.
BACKGROUND
Club Name: Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli
Chairman: Aurelio De Laurentiis
Year Founded: 1 August 1926
Stadium: Stadio San Paolo
2009-10 Position: 6th (EUROPA League Qualification)
Season Expectations
In my opinion, I would choose wisely and pick Continental Qualification because Napoli have always been in a safe position to qualify for the EURO Cup and they have the squad to perform it another time. If you want, you could do Title Challenge but don't forget that although Inter are the strongest, there is Juventus, Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio, Udinese and Milan who are also strong, so you must be aware that you have a big challenge ahead of you.
Choosing Continental Qualification you should receive:
Choosing Title Challenge you should receive:
KEY:
Key Player
First Team
Rotation
Backup
Youngster
Goalkeepers
Morgan De Sanctis: Your best goalkeeper, so make sure you always stick him in goal.
Gennaro Iezzo: The best backup keeper, so stick him in your first substitution choice.
Matteo Gianello: Backup of the backup keeper.
Luigi Sepe: Has the potential to fill in Iezzo's spot of a backup keeper.
Note:
Defenders:
Gianluca Grava - DR: Neither fast or tall, but has above-average crossing and dribbling, so can be useful for a backup.
Salvatore Aronica - DL: Very similar to Grava but has better heading, so he can be played in the centre.
Hugo Campagnaro - DR: An important full back, as he's fast and brave, a player that will giving wingers a hard time.[/COLOR]
Andrea Dossena - WBL: A strong wing back that is more offensive, yet has good defensive skills. Should always be first choice.
Juan Camilo Zúñiga - WBR: The same as Dossena, but lacks stamina, so make sure you have a backup on the bench.
Fabiano Santacroce - CB: A fast defender who will be useful vs fast attackers, so use him against them.
Emílson Cribari - CB: The tallest defener, yet lacks concentration. I've played him and he has been vital vs tall attackers.
Paolo Cannavaro - CB: The captain. He will lead your defence line. He's the only sweeper. Any other way to show how important he is?
Victor Ruiz - CB: Although he's good he has the potential to get better, so keep him and watch him develop.
Note:
Midfielders:
Luigi Vitale - ML: The only left midfielder you have, yet he isn't even good enough for a first-option.
Michele Pazienza - DM: Has the required defensive attributes, plus has good passing and creativity too. Important player.
Christian Maggio - MR: A versatile player, performing defensive and attacking actions. You'll need him in any team.
Marek Hamšík - MC: The star of the team, with beautiful passing and the playmaker. No matter the offer, never let him go.
Hassan Yebda - MC: An all-round midfielder, covering Cigarini who's loaned out for a season, so no point buying him.
Walter Gargano - MC: The fast, defensive player. Will be very useful vs fast attacking midfielders so use him against them.
José Sosa - MR: A typical winger who has the ability to challenge well in the air aswell as on ground.
Manuele Blasi - MC: Similar to Gargano. Blasi is your ball-winning midfielder, playing an important role in the team.
Note:
Forwards:
Edinson Cavani: Strong, fast, skillfull - a fantastic striker. Be grateful that you have him and use him well.
Ezequiel Lavezzi: He can finish and skills with ease past defenders, along with his lightning pace. He posesses a big threat to the opposition.
Cristiano Lucarelli: A typical target man. Keep him as you've only got 2 strikers otherweise.
Note:
Transfers:
Who To Buy:
The first thing you will definatly need without doubt is a striker. Either go for a fast, skillful player or a target man. It doesn't really matter which of the two you choose as Cavani will be able to fit either role along side that player. Make sure he is young, as you already have a set of quality strikers, including Quagliarella currently at loan at Juventus, so he can potentially turn out better than them once they're older.
You should also look for a left winger, as the club does not have one, but if you're planning to use the 3-2-3-2 formation (below), then I suggest you look for a wing back for the left side.
I have split the transfer options into 2 sections:
I chose the first option, as it has saved me plenty of money. I've been getting at least £1mil profit every month and in the January transfer window, I was given an extra £9.4mil transfer budget along side a wage budget of £850k. I only chose this option so I can have much more money for the next season to spend.
If you choose the second option, you will definatly have a better chance of winning the league, as you already have a strong team but there are a few gaps here and there. Follow this if you want to make an immediate impact in the league and become successfull more quickly.
Option 1:
Option 2:
Who To Sell:
You could really get some money in from selling some players in order to cover the costs for the players you want to bring in and these are the players you should be thinking of selling:
Backroom Staff:
You should really be looking to offload all of your current staff at the club, as none of the coaches, scouts or physios are even close to being good. If you want success at your club, you'll need a strong backroom staff alongside yourself, so here are some recommendations that you may want to follow:
Assistant Manager: Terry McDermott - An assistant with great stats to be working along side, yet lacks training quality.
Attacking Coach: Marco Rota 4* - A strong, all-round coach. He's by far one of the best coaches in the game.
Defending Coach: John Versleeuwen 4* - A great defensive coach. With 20 level of discipline, you'll see your players improve.
Ball Control Coach: Gianpiero Ventrone 4* - Just like Rota - another strong coach, great for any role.
Tactics Coach: Erick Mombaerts 4* - He's your tactical man, plus can work great with youngsters too.
Shooting Coach: Tosh Farrell 4* - Lacks level of discipline but has strong coaching attributes for shooting.
Fitness Coach: Steve Black 3.5* both together - Has good stats , but maybe you'll need another one with him.
Goalkeeping Coach: Marcus Leme 3.5* both together - A Strong GK coach, again you might want someone with him.
Board Room Requests:
Feeder Club: The current Feeder Club, Aversa Normanna, aren't really good enough because if you look at their training facilities, they are adequate. This is something you do not want because you'll be wanting to loan your youths out to a club with at least good training, so try and find another one.
Youth Facilities: The facilities for training is top quality, whereas the youth facilities are average. You'll definatly need better than 'average' because you'd want to develop your own young players, you'll need to upgrade them. Sometimes the board may reject your first request, but the best response is to tell them that you'll see the club falling behind your rivals, if the options turns up, and they'll consider that thought and then grant your request.
Tactics:
NOTE: THIS IS NOT A DOWNLOADBLE TACTIC. I AM JUST EXPLAINING TO YOU HOW THE FORMATION WORKS.
View attachment 162982
GK - Defend
SW: Sweeper - Defend
CBs: Centre Back - Defend
WBs: Wing Backs - Automatic
DMC: Anchor Man - Defend
CML: Central Midfielder - Attack
CMR: Central Midfielder - Defend
STR: Deep-Lying Forward - Attack
STL: Poacher - Attack
This is the formation which is similar to the one used by Napoli in real life, however as Lavezzi cannot play in the AML position very well, there is no choice but to use this formation. It can be blended into their real formation:
Formation: 3-3-2-2, an unorthdox formation which is rarely used in football today. This strongly suits Napoli due to the quality wingbacks currently at the club (Dossena, Maggio & Zuniga).
You can clearly see there is a 3 v 2 situation in the centre, giving yourself an advantage with 1 extra MC, being very impotant that the spare midfielder is able to pick up any loose balls.
The arrows show the space players should be running into when in possession of the ball. The wing backs should always cover the wing, 1 midfielder should be puhing back just incase the ball is lost and the other midfielder should be looking to help the attack by pushing forward.
The WB's you have to be careful with, as once the opposition's wingers dribble past them, things could go bad. Against weaker teams it is safe to man mark the wingers, but against stornger teams, zonal marking is the key for the WB's to succeed. Make sure they do not attack too much, as once they lose the ball in the final-third, you're in the big trouble.
There's a line on the left striker, acting as its line positioning. That striker will come deep and play the ball from the midfielder, either laying it off to a midfielde or the striker, or running up with the ball towards goal.
The sweeper is very important in the formation. You must make sure that he is not man-marking anyone, otherweise he could be dragged out of position. Also having a sweeper means that you must play deep. If you make yourteam push forward, having a lot of space behind the defenders, any fast striker would easily pick up any ball over the defence, as it is unlikely that he will be offside.
This formation doesn't just dominate 4-4-2 but can also 4-3-1-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and 4-5-1. Even teams today in the Serie A are facing great difficulty against Napoli due to their formation.
Extras:
Style of play: Napoli are a fast squad, especially the attackers, so counter-attacking would be really beneficial for the team. This also gives an advantage to the formation being used, as you must defend deep, which where the counter-attack starts.
Pitch Size: The players have good fitness, as stated in the pre-season meeting, so a big pitch would be suitable for Napoli. Also with the note above, counter-attacking really works best with a big pitch.
Captains: Keep Cannavaro as your captain, but replace Grava with Hamsik. Although he is young, he has good influence over the team, also being an ambitious player and could be very useful in big matches, such as finals and rival matches.
Thank you for reading my guide, I hope it will help you with your Napoli game. Have fun & feel free to provide feedback
Hello and welcome to Saroy's Guide to Napoli, edited for the latest patch, where you will find all you need to know about Napoli and help you manage them. You may want to follow your own instint when it comes to the things discussed later, but I am just offering you a guidline on how to get the best out of the players of Napoli.
Why choose to manage Napoli?
The main reason for why I believe Napoli are one of the best teams to manage in Football Manager is because of the potential they have. After being promoted from Serie C1/B in 2006 and again from Serie B into the first division the following year, they have definitely become a strong squad and in my opinion, a contender for the Serie A title (look at how they're currently doing in real life if you don't agree with me), however you'll need to understand the team very well for that to happen. They are an ambitious squad with some key players for the team and with their unorthodox formation, they can produce the unexpected, but there are some problems in certain areas which this guide will help you with.
BACKGROUND
Club Name: Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli
Chairman: Aurelio De Laurentiis
Year Founded: 1 August 1926
Stadium: Stadio San Paolo
2009-10 Position: 6th (EUROPA League Qualification)
Season Expectations
In my opinion, I would choose wisely and pick Continental Qualification because Napoli have always been in a safe position to qualify for the EURO Cup and they have the squad to perform it another time. If you want, you could do Title Challenge but don't forget that although Inter are the strongest, there is Juventus, Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio, Udinese and Milan who are also strong, so you must be aware that you have a big challenge ahead of you.
Choosing Continental Qualification you should receive:
- A transfer budget of £9.25million
- A total wage budget of £575k, currently spending £497k
Choosing Title Challenge you should receive:
- A transfer budget of £10million
- A total wage budget of £600k, currently spending £497k
KEY:
Key Player
First Team
Rotation
Backup
Youngster
Goalkeepers
Morgan De Sanctis: Your best goalkeeper, so make sure you always stick him in goal.
Gennaro Iezzo: The best backup keeper, so stick him in your first substitution choice.
Matteo Gianello: Backup of the backup keeper.
Luigi Sepe: Has the potential to fill in Iezzo's spot of a backup keeper.
Note:
- Keep loaning Sepe out or stick him in the reserves until a few years, as he will grow faster. He is not much use in the first season or two.
- Gianello is very worthless and his mental attributes are really poor, so sticking him in goals is suicide, but only do it as a last resort.
- Morgan De Sanctis' attributes tend to decrease slightly, but he still improves so set his individual training to whatever needs improving.
Defenders:
Gianluca Grava - DR: Neither fast or tall, but has above-average crossing and dribbling, so can be useful for a backup.
Salvatore Aronica - DL: Very similar to Grava but has better heading, so he can be played in the centre.
Hugo Campagnaro - DR: An important full back, as he's fast and brave, a player that will giving wingers a hard time.[/COLOR]
Andrea Dossena - WBL: A strong wing back that is more offensive, yet has good defensive skills. Should always be first choice.
Juan Camilo Zúñiga - WBR: The same as Dossena, but lacks stamina, so make sure you have a backup on the bench.
Fabiano Santacroce - CB: A fast defender who will be useful vs fast attackers, so use him against them.
Emílson Cribari - CB: The tallest defener, yet lacks concentration. I've played him and he has been vital vs tall attackers.
Paolo Cannavaro - CB: The captain. He will lead your defence line. He's the only sweeper. Any other way to show how important he is?
Victor Ruiz - CB: Although he's good he has the potential to get better, so keep him and watch him develop.
Note:
- Some defenders have low marking/heading stats. Don't worry about that, just set their individual training to marking/heading.
- Another way to tackle the poor marking is to make them players not mark tightly or set their marking to zonal, however this requires good positioning and concentration.
- Cribari is getting older and worthless, so you may want to get a replacement, but Napoli have already agreed terms with Federic Fernández, who is young and a tall strong defender, so there's no need to look for a new defender.
Midfielders:
Luigi Vitale - ML: The only left midfielder you have, yet he isn't even good enough for a first-option.
Michele Pazienza - DM: Has the required defensive attributes, plus has good passing and creativity too. Important player.
Christian Maggio - MR: A versatile player, performing defensive and attacking actions. You'll need him in any team.
Marek Hamšík - MC: The star of the team, with beautiful passing and the playmaker. No matter the offer, never let him go.
Hassan Yebda - MC: An all-round midfielder, covering Cigarini who's loaned out for a season, so no point buying him.
Walter Gargano - MC: The fast, defensive player. Will be very useful vs fast attacking midfielders so use him against them.
José Sosa - MR: A typical winger who has the ability to challenge well in the air aswell as on ground.
Manuele Blasi - MC: Similar to Gargano. Blasi is your ball-winning midfielder, playing an important role in the team.
Note:
- Vitale, in my opinion, is not good enough for LM. He's useful for a rotation/backup player but you can find many better players
- Make sure Hamsik isn't given a hard workout in training. You must keep him fit enough for most matches, especially the important ones, as he is the only playmaker in the midfield.
- Do not buy Yeba, keep him on loan. He is covering Cigarini and he is far better than Yebda.
Forwards:
Edinson Cavani: Strong, fast, skillfull - a fantastic striker. Be grateful that you have him and use him well.
Ezequiel Lavezzi: He can finish and skills with ease past defenders, along with his lightning pace. He posesses a big threat to the opposition.
Cristiano Lucarelli: A typical target man. Keep him as you've only got 2 strikers otherweise.
Note:
- Telling Lavezzi to place his shots is a must. His finishing and technique are both good and this PPM works well with him.
- There is no point buying Lucarelli permanently, as he is old and you can get other young target men, which I will mention later on.
Transfers:
Who To Buy:
The first thing you will definatly need without doubt is a striker. Either go for a fast, skillful player or a target man. It doesn't really matter which of the two you choose as Cavani will be able to fit either role along side that player. Make sure he is young, as you already have a set of quality strikers, including Quagliarella currently at loan at Juventus, so he can potentially turn out better than them once they're older.
You should also look for a left winger, as the club does not have one, but if you're planning to use the 3-2-3-2 formation (below), then I suggest you look for a wing back for the left side.
I have split the transfer options into 2 sections:
- The cheap option, if you want to save money
- Splashing out your cash, so you get the world-class players
I chose the first option, as it has saved me plenty of money. I've been getting at least £1mil profit every month and in the January transfer window, I was given an extra £9.4mil transfer budget along side a wage budget of £850k. I only chose this option so I can have much more money for the next season to spend.
If you choose the second option, you will definatly have a better chance of winning the league, as you already have a strong team but there are a few gaps here and there. Follow this if you want to make an immediate impact in the league and become successfull more quickly.
Option 1:
- Cristian Rodríguez - £975k - Will cover your left wing problem and can even play AMR as an inside forward.
- Kevin - £1.8mil - Young playmaker, can be used as a backup for Hamsik. He's tipped to be a star.
or - Milan Badelj - £4mil - He can be used as your main playmaker and Hamsik could then be used as an centre mid - ATT.
- Vaclav Kadlec - 800K - A well-known wonderkid. Snap him up before the big clubs do, as he has a lot of interest.
Option 2:
- Kévin Gameiro - £5mil - A fantastic poacher. Will bag in goals at ease upfront at goal.
- Gonzalo Castro - £10mil - A typical winger who would easily fill up the left wing spot.
or - Balázs Dzsudzsák - £9mil - A winger more than capable of just crossing, as he has good finishing and great long shots.
or - Bryan Luiz - £15mil - A winger taller than the other options, so has an advantage in the air, could come in hand.
Who To Sell:
You could really get some money in from selling some players in order to cover the costs for the players you want to bring in and these are the players you should be thinking of selling:
- Matteo Gianello - Not needed - £425k
- Gianluca Grava - Old and useless - £900k
- Luigi Vitale - Many better players for his position, but only sell him if you're not going to use wing backs - £4m
Backroom Staff:
You should really be looking to offload all of your current staff at the club, as none of the coaches, scouts or physios are even close to being good. If you want success at your club, you'll need a strong backroom staff alongside yourself, so here are some recommendations that you may want to follow:
Assistant Manager: Terry McDermott - An assistant with great stats to be working along side, yet lacks training quality.
Attacking Coach: Marco Rota 4* - A strong, all-round coach. He's by far one of the best coaches in the game.
Defending Coach: John Versleeuwen 4* - A great defensive coach. With 20 level of discipline, you'll see your players improve.
Ball Control Coach: Gianpiero Ventrone 4* - Just like Rota - another strong coach, great for any role.
Tactics Coach: Erick Mombaerts 4* - He's your tactical man, plus can work great with youngsters too.
Shooting Coach: Tosh Farrell 4* - Lacks level of discipline but has strong coaching attributes for shooting.
Fitness Coach: Steve Black 3.5* both together - Has good stats , but maybe you'll need another one with him.
Goalkeeping Coach: Marcus Leme 3.5* both together - A Strong GK coach, again you might want someone with him.
Board Room Requests:
Feeder Club: The current Feeder Club, Aversa Normanna, aren't really good enough because if you look at their training facilities, they are adequate. This is something you do not want because you'll be wanting to loan your youths out to a club with at least good training, so try and find another one.
Youth Facilities: The facilities for training is top quality, whereas the youth facilities are average. You'll definatly need better than 'average' because you'd want to develop your own young players, you'll need to upgrade them. Sometimes the board may reject your first request, but the best response is to tell them that you'll see the club falling behind your rivals, if the options turns up, and they'll consider that thought and then grant your request.
Tactics:
NOTE: THIS IS NOT A DOWNLOADBLE TACTIC. I AM JUST EXPLAINING TO YOU HOW THE FORMATION WORKS.
View attachment 162982
GK - Defend
SW: Sweeper - Defend
CBs: Centre Back - Defend
WBs: Wing Backs - Automatic
DMC: Anchor Man - Defend
CML: Central Midfielder - Attack
CMR: Central Midfielder - Defend
STR: Deep-Lying Forward - Attack
STL: Poacher - Attack
This is the formation which is similar to the one used by Napoli in real life, however as Lavezzi cannot play in the AML position very well, there is no choice but to use this formation. It can be blended into their real formation:
Formation: 3-3-2-2, an unorthdox formation which is rarely used in football today. This strongly suits Napoli due to the quality wingbacks currently at the club (Dossena, Maggio & Zuniga).
You can clearly see there is a 3 v 2 situation in the centre, giving yourself an advantage with 1 extra MC, being very impotant that the spare midfielder is able to pick up any loose balls.
The arrows show the space players should be running into when in possession of the ball. The wing backs should always cover the wing, 1 midfielder should be puhing back just incase the ball is lost and the other midfielder should be looking to help the attack by pushing forward.
The WB's you have to be careful with, as once the opposition's wingers dribble past them, things could go bad. Against weaker teams it is safe to man mark the wingers, but against stornger teams, zonal marking is the key for the WB's to succeed. Make sure they do not attack too much, as once they lose the ball in the final-third, you're in the big trouble.
There's a line on the left striker, acting as its line positioning. That striker will come deep and play the ball from the midfielder, either laying it off to a midfielde or the striker, or running up with the ball towards goal.
The sweeper is very important in the formation. You must make sure that he is not man-marking anyone, otherweise he could be dragged out of position. Also having a sweeper means that you must play deep. If you make yourteam push forward, having a lot of space behind the defenders, any fast striker would easily pick up any ball over the defence, as it is unlikely that he will be offside.
This formation doesn't just dominate 4-4-2 but can also 4-3-1-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and 4-5-1. Even teams today in the Serie A are facing great difficulty against Napoli due to their formation.
Extras:
Style of play: Napoli are a fast squad, especially the attackers, so counter-attacking would be really beneficial for the team. This also gives an advantage to the formation being used, as you must defend deep, which where the counter-attack starts.
Pitch Size: The players have good fitness, as stated in the pre-season meeting, so a big pitch would be suitable for Napoli. Also with the note above, counter-attacking really works best with a big pitch.
Captains: Keep Cannavaro as your captain, but replace Grava with Hamsik. Although he is young, he has good influence over the team, also being an ambitious player and could be very useful in big matches, such as finals and rival matches.
Thank you for reading my guide, I hope it will help you with your Napoli game. Have fun & feel free to provide feedback
Last edited:
