Spalletti announced the death of the lines in football and turned Napoli into one of the best teams in the world. Understanding how

By November, only two clubs remained undefeated in the top leagues. The first PSG overfed with billions. Second Napoli.

The Neapolitans won 17 out of 20 matches, scored 54 goals in a third of the season and recorded the most powerful winning streak in club history for 13 in a row. Only Liverpool managed to stop them. After the match, Salah said that the British defeated one of the best teams in the world.

Six months ago, nothing foreshadowed such an upsurge. Let's take a look at its components.

Spalletti corrected his style compared to last year: he adapted to the qualities of Khvicha and Kim

Napoli's move is especially surprising https://mostbet-az-90.com/aviator/ after a deafening off-season shake-up. In the spring, the Neapolitans voluntarily withdrew from the fight for the Scudetto, having lost 8 points in the last 7 rounds. In May, the tifosi put up a banner: Spalletti, we will return the stolen car, just leave. But half of the team left the coach.

David Ospina, Kalidou Koulibaly, Fabian Ruiz, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens left the club, and with them several smaller figures. Napoli got rid of leaders in every line. In their place came a Korean center back with one season in Europe, an enigmatic Georgian from an exotic league, and an unbeatable Argentinean with one bright year.

The nature of the change was also troubling. Last year's Napoli was built on the idea of total territorial dominance with an artificial overload on the left flank and an attack by a weak opposite side. Insigne, even in poor form, remained a key performer, his control under pressure and talent for tying the game determined the overall quality of the team. Instead, he was replaced by an impulsive dribbler, dependent on space and not very accurate passing.

The same thing happened in the rest of the lines. The goalkeeper with an outstanding kicking game was replaced by a gifted shortstopper, who did not pass even in the yard as a child. The place of Koulibaly with his technical accelerations, which guaranteed progressive exit from the defense, was taken by the oaky Kim with a good long pass. The longballs and aggravations of Ruiz were replaced by Lobotka's sterile short football.

Restructuring has changed the face of Napoli. First, there are more tools for vertical play. Secondly, the center of gravity has shifted from the left edge to the middle of the field.

Spalletti rebuilt the game, adjusting to the newcomers. Lobotka, Osimhen and the eights are the main characters of Napoli

In the mid-90s, Empoli fans hung a banner in the stands: Zeman Sacchi = Spalletti. 27 years have passed and nothing has changed. One of the few coaches in service since the last century, he has remained at the forefront of tactical art.

Spalletti spent a two-year vacation watching every football available and tracking long-term trends. In the spring, the coach announced the death of the line game. According to Luciano, the high pressure and subsequent adaptation of the teams to the passing lanes rendered meaningless the very concepts of lines: Space is a zone created by other players, it is important to see and use it correctly. There are no more gaps between lines, only gaps between opposing players and space behind defenders.