Despite being without their two best strikers, Udinese were strong enough to put a huge dent in Napoli's title chances
Giampaolo Pozzo has never been afraid to ask for a little divine intervention. For years the Udinese owner has been leading his players up into the hills to the east of their city, on an annual pilgrimage to the Blessed Virgin's Sanctuary of Castelmonte. As they climb he might recount the sanctuary's legend, telling of how the devil once challenged the Virgin Mary to a race to Castelmonte's peak, with the winner taking possession of the local town of Cividale.
The trip would normally take place at Christmas but due to logistical reasons this year's was postponed until last Monday. In the end that seemed rather timely: after consecutive league defeats Udinese needed all the help they could get. As the players, directors, staff and the many fans who joined them settled into the sanctuary for a special mass, most were praying their starting forwards Antonio Di Natale and Alexis S�nchez would shake off injuries in time for the weekend's trip to Napoli.
It was not to be. Udinese arrived at Stadio San Paolo on Sunday evening without the pair who had accounted for 38 of the club's 57 league goals and in their absence the manager, Francesco Guidolin, had no choice but to start Germ�n Denis, scorer of three goals in his first 22 appearances for the club, as a lone striker. As if that wasn't bad enough, another of this year's star performers, Mauricio Isla, limped off after 35 minutes.
This was surely too much for any team to overcome. Napoli, after all, were title contenders ? widely anointed as the "anti-Milan" by the press after Inter's recent implosion. The Partenopei had won four games in a row, and at Stadio San Paolo would be playing before a furiously partisan crowd of 60,000. They could even counter Udinese's mass with the prayers of the Archbishop of Naples, Crescenzio Sepe, who has made no secret of his support.
Certainly the script developing in the mind of the Napoli owner and film producer, Aurelio De Laurentiis, called for a home win ? one which would keep his team snapping at Milan's heels after the leaders' comprehensive victory over Sampdoria a day earlier. Many neutral supporters will have felt the same way, seduced by the prospect of another title race going down to the final day. But Udinese have their own fairytale ending to pursue.
Indeed, if the midfielder Gokhan Inler chose not to celebrate his stunning opener, thrashed home from 25 yards early in the second half, it was certainly not because of a lack of significance for his team. Udinese might have finally relinquished hopes of a most unlikely title charge, but for them to make the top four, and earn a Champions League berth, would still be an incredible achievement. This, after all, was a team that began the campaign with hopes of a mid-table finish ? before they opened it with four successive defeats.
That they have managed to turn things round so drastically is a testament to much more than the presences of S�nchez and Di Natale. Inler's goal was merely the cherry on top of the sort of imposing display he has given all year in central midfield, and one which helps to explain why Napoli have pursued him in the last two transfer windows. At full-time he would deny having a deal in place to move in the summer, insisting his decision not to celebrate was made only "because I have many Neapolitan friends".
Denis, too, managed to contain his joy at extending the lead five minutes later. The Argentinian might have felt inclined to rub his goal ? another peach ? in the faces of the team who discarded him in the summer, but was perhaps wise not to do so, given that Napoli still own a share of his rights. He had led the line admirably throughout, though, and behind him Kwadwo Asamoah was just as impressive in advancing from his usual central-midfield role to fill in as a makeshift trequartista.
But if Udinese's attacking play has been celebrated all season then this was a victory, too, for defensive discipline. Guidolin abandoned his usual 3-5-2 in favour of a flexible 4-4-1-1 and succeeded in containing the likes of Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani admirably. When they did break through, Samir Handanovic was waiting. The goalkeeper showed sharp reflexes to deny Lavezzi shortly before the interval, before saving a Cavani penalty ? his fifth spot-kick save of the season (and second against Napoli) ? in the 88th minute.
Napoli did finally get one goal back, Giuseppe Mascara finally driving the ball home deep into injury time after a swing-and-a-miss by Cavani ? who was below his usual standard throughout ? inside the area. With Christian Maggio also hitting the bar late on, the chances had been there for Napoli to achieve yet another dramatic comeback, even if that would perhaps have been harsh on Udinese.
Instead Napoli suffered a sixth defeat in seven league games so far against Milan, Inter, Lazio and Udinese. For all that this season already represents a massive step forward from last year's sixth-place finish, there will be frustration at the failure in these most significant games. Their previous surrendering of the tie-breaker to Milan, indeed, makes the six-point gap at the top look even more imposing. The Rossoneri now need only nine points from their remaining five games to seal the title.
Udinese's players may have guessed as they passed through Cividale ? a town that is not, at time of writing, engulfed in eternal hellfire ? that the devil lost his race to the summit of Castelmonte. But their own win at Stadio San Paolo looks to have given the Diavolo of Milan a clear run down the final straight.
Talking points
? If there was one note of concern for Milan it came from the injury suffered by Alexandre Pato. The striker's 41st-minute withdrawal might not have been enough to derail the Rossoneri against the shadow of a team that passes for Sampdoria these days, but with Milan's medical team predicting an absence of 10 to 15 days, they will now be without both him and Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Saturday's game at Brescia, and possibly also the following week's game against Bologna. The squad should be strong enough to cope, but if Napoli needed a straw to cling to, this was probably it.
? As for Samp, things took a turn for the distinctly nasty after Saturday's 3-0 defeat ? a result which, combined with Cesena's win over Bari, dropped them into the relegation zone for the first time. A group of 30 or so supporters ambushed the team's bus on its return to Genoa, attacking it with bats and stones and threatening the players with death should they get relegated. Angelo Palombo ? still popular with the fans ? was able to stall the thugs as they tried to enter the bus, but they eventually backed off and fled only due to fears the police were on the way. The incident was all the more shocking because Samp's fans are traditionally one of the more well-behaved groups in Serie A ? hence the lack of police presence in the first place.
? Thomas DiBenedetto's US consortium finally completed their purchase of Roma on Friday, though the venture did not get off to the most auspicious of starts when the Giallorossi lost 3-2 at home to Palermo a day later. The game was full of controversy ? Roma won one penalty and might have had another, while Palermo were awarded one exceptionally soft spot-kick after having earlier been denied one for a clear foul ? but in the end Vincenzo Montella acknowledged that the defeat was merited. More to the point, it dealt a huge blow to their hopes of securing a Champions League place, something DiBenedetto had called "fundamental". Montella is coaching for his future at the moment, and the next five results may determine whether he stays. Frankly the new owners might even want him back as a player should they glimpse this little touch of class on the sidelines.
? More troubling for many of Roma's fans may be reports that DiBenedetto is thinking of updating the club's logo as they seek to rebrand internationally. Add to your list of vaguely unreassuring quotes the following from James Pallotta, an investor in the consortium: "Roma is the best known brand in the world. Two thousand years of battles, what more could you want?"
? Another week, another goal from the halfway line. So soon after Dejan Stankovic's volleyed opener against Schalke, Michele Marcolini's technically superb effort for Chievo against Bologna felt curiously underwhelming. Or maybe that's just me.
? From worrying about what's ahead of them, Internazionale may need to start worrying about the teams who could overtake them if their current slump persists. Leonardo tried to shake things up by dropping Maicon and Thiago Motta ? each of whom had failed to show sufficient effort in training ? from his matchday squad against Parma, as well as starting Wesley Sneijder from the bench. The move failed to have the desired effect as they lost 2-0, though it is reported today that said players have since bucked their ideas up in training. They need to ? fourth-placed Lazio are now just three points behind, and Inter's next game is against them at San Siro.
? The relegation battle had its share of twists, but none more dramatic than at Stadio Via del Mare, where Lecce trailed 3-1 at home to Cagliari with three minutes left but came back to equalise in the fourth minute of injury time. With seven points from their last three games, Lecce appear to be moving towards safety. Their rivals Bari are good as gone, while Sampdoria and Brescia need to start getting points fast if they are to drag themselves out of the mire.
Results: Catania 1-4 Lazio, Cesena 1-0 Bari, Chievo 2-0 Bologna, Fiorentina 0-0 Juventus, Genoa 3-0 Brescia, Lecce 3-3 Cagliari, Milan 3-0 Sampdoria, Napoli 1-2 Udinese, Parma 2-0 Internazionale, Roma 2-3 Palermo.
Follow Paolo Bandini on Twitter
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/apr/18/udinese-napoli-serie-a
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