The counter attack was blistering, Lorenzo Insigne’s ball delightful and the finish from Arkadiusz Milik inch perfect. Napoli had opened their Serie A account with a 3-1 win against Hellas Verona and in their typical cavalier style, had seemingly picked up from where they left off last campaign. The young Polish strikers goal was significant, in that it highlighted a goal threat the Neapolitans didn’t have last year, a season that despite Dries Mertens best efforts, saw them finish five points off the top.
Napoli scored 94 goals in Serie A last term, 28 of these came from their revelation of the season, Dries Mertens. One may wonder if they really need any more fire power, especially as Marek Hamsik, Jose Callejon and Lorenzo Insigne were not shy with the goals. After Gonzalo Higuain’s departure to Juventus the summer before, there was a huge hole to fill, not least because if the Argentines record breaking tally the season before. Milik was purchased from Ajax for this very reason and the early signs were good.
The Pole was one third (30m Euro) of Higuain’s price, he was much younger and had scored goals in the Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen and in Holland for Ajax. Upon arriving in the San Paolo, he went to work, proving himself in Serie A netting seven goals in nine games, before and injury to his knee saw him out for three months. It was Napoli’s collective brilliance in shouldering the goals tally and the emergence of Mertens that were the positives to come out of the situation, they were so good that when Milik returned in January, he was eased back as there was no necessity for him.
Sitting on the bench for the second half of the campaign was not an issue for the 23-year-old, his maturity perhaps comes from knowing he is number two in the national team to Robert Lewandowski and he could not deny the brilliance of Mertens ahead of him. Napoli were at this point playing football that in a day when modern TV saturates the sport, they were making it look vibrant and exciting.
Even so, the tall striker would have also realised that he has something very different to offer. Whilst Mertens was primarily getting his goals from the False 9 position, the Pole is more of a central striker. Target man would be a tag that dilutes his worth but his movement on the box, his physical attributes and his heading abilities certainly make him more than a useful option. His shooting ability is not restricted to the 12-yard box either and this skill of being able to strike from distance, also works with Napoli’s marauding counter attacking style.
This season Maurizio Sarri has kept the squad together and will be hoping that he can challenge Juventus for the Scudetto and bring it back to Naples for the first time since the days of Diego Maradona and Careca. The minor tweaks to this well-oiled machine have been minor but will certainly improve the performance and if Milik can hit the ground running then he maybe come an integral part of a team that will have to compete on all fronts again this term. His goal against Verona and midweek for Poland are early signs that will have Sarri rubbing his hands, he isn’t just a goal threat, he is a whole new piece in the armoury.
With two 3-1 victories in Serie A so far against Verona and Atalanta the Partenopei look like they have continued where they left off last season. The football is vibrant, the finishing deadly. Arguably the Neapolitans are the most complete squad in the division and the most beautiful, Juventus however, are the most professional and the most industrious, the margins of victory could be closer than ever. These marginal gains will come in various guises but ultimately for Napoli they will feel that Milik will be one. He is the answer to a question, whose absence even brought answers.
The Pole is back and he is hungry and claimed to the Corriere Dello Sport in June that “I’m back, I’m stronger, I have missed too much time, I want it all”. Does this mean he wants to compete with Mertens of course it does but he also has the Neapolitan collective doctrine in him, as he said. “Scoring the goal that wins the Scudetto is a dream but it doesn’t matter if Dries gets it, or Pepe Reina for that.”
