The champions had already been crowned, the runners-up confirmed and the three worst sides consigned to relegation. Only a few items of business remained to be resolved on Serie A’s final weekend. But there would be no shortage of drama.
It began on Saturday, with Luca Toni and Carlos Tevez lining up opposite one another at the Bentegodi. The Verona striker led his Juventus counterpart by a single goal at the top of the Serie A scoring charts, and duly extended his advantage by crashing the 22nd strike of his remarkable campaign beyond Gigi Buffon. At the other end, Tevez had a penalty saved by the Verona goalkeeper Rafael – who reacted by imitating Toni’s trademark ear-cupping celebration.
A further twist was yet to come. Toni had beaten Tevez, but Inter’s Mauro Icardi remained only two goals behind. He got both of them during a chaotic 4-3 victory over Empoli, ensuring that the title of Serie A’s Capocannoniere would have to be shared. Toni, at 38, became the oldest player ever to win the award. Icardi was the youngest since Paolo Rossi fired Lanerossi Vicenza to second place in 1977-78.
And yet, their feats were still overshadowed by events elsewhere. A nation’s attention was instead focused on Napoli v Lazio at the Stadio San Paolo, and what had become a head-to-head showdown for a place in next season’s Champions League playoff round. The hosts could leapfrog their opponents into third place with a win. For Lazio, a draw would suffice.
This was to be Rafael Benítez’s final match in charge of Napoli. The club had initially been reluctant to acknowledge rumours that their manager was off to Real Madrid, warning reporters via an official statement that questions regarding his future would not be answered at Thursday’s press conference. Somewhere along the line, that stance softened. “My cycle has reached its conclusion,” announced Benítez. “I hope to close it in a beautiful way, gifting the Champions League to the fans.”
Napoli’s owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, insisted that the manager’s tenure had been a success, stating that: “However it goes against Lazio, these have been two seasons of a high level”. Later, he was asked whether he would recommend Benítez to Madrid’s Florentino Pérez. “Yes,” replied De Laurentiis, “but he certainly does not need my advice.”
The verdict from Napoli’s supporters would have been less positive. Benítez was a popular appointment in 2013, but has failed to deliver progress on the pitch. The team he inherited had just finished second in Serie A. Despite investing in the likes of Gonzalo Higuaín, José Callejón and Raúl Albiól, Napoli subsequently slipped to third last season and were now at risk of slipping even further.
Benítez had won just a single piece of major silverware – the Coppa Italia, a trophy that Napoli had already claimed under his predecessor, Walter Mazzarri. As satisfying as the subsequent Supercoppa win over Juventus was, it did not make up for losing a Champions League qualifier to Athletic Bilbao or blowing a Europa League semi-final against Dnipro. A victory against Lazio could not have disguised such failings. But it would at least have allowed Benítez to depart on a high note, while giving his successor something to build upon.
That modest goal appeared to have been dashed by half-time. After Callejón missed a golden opportunity to put Napoli ahead, Lazio roared into a two-goal lead. First Marco Parolo’s deflected long-range effort sailed over Mariano Andújar. Then Antonio Candreva slipped the ball past the goalkeeper at the end of a swift counter-attack.
But if Napoli have shown one consistent quality under Benítez, it is a capacity to rebound from a slow start. They had already claimed 17 points from losing positions this season, and pulled level on Sunday with a pair of Higuaín goals inside the opening 20 minutes of the second-half. In-between those two strikes, Parolo was sent off and his Lazio team-mate Stefan de Vrij obliged to clear another goalbound effort off the line.
A victory that once seemed impossible for Napoli now appeared almost inevitable. The hosts lost their numerical advantage when Faouzi Ghoulam was sent off 20 minutes before the end, but they continued to sweep forwards all the same. Lazio were going to pieces. With barely a quarter of an hour remaining, Senad Lulic’s lunged into an unnecessary sliding challenge on Christian Maggio, fouling the Napoli full-back as he surged into the box. A penalty was duly awarded.
It ought to have been the crowning moment of a miraculous comeback. Instead Higuaín walloped his spot-kick high over the bar. It was the fourth penalty he has missed in this league campaign. And the third time, under such circumstances, that his team have failed to go on and win the game.
Lazio retook the lead on a rare counter-attack. Ogenyi Onazi had been on the pitch for little more than 90 seconds when he latched on to a ball that Maggio had accidentally knocked into his path and swept a side-foot finish beyond Andújar. Just like that, Napoli’s spirits were broken. In injury time, another substitute, Miroslav Klose, made it 4-2 to the visitors.
As Luigi Garlando would note in Gazzetta dello Sport, Higuaín’s year had come full circle. After fluffing his lines during Argentina’s World Cup final defeat last summer, the striker had once again blown a golden opportunity and had his dreams dashed by a German.
This has been the joint-most prolific season of Higuaín’s career, with 29 goals in all competitions, and yet his mistakes have been costly. Convert even a couple of those missed penalties, and third place might have been assured. As Fabio Mandarini, somewhat cruelly, observed in Corriere dello Sport, the player “cost €40m twice over: two years ago, when De Laurentiis bought him from Real Madrid, and then again yesterday.”
But to place Napoli’s failures all on Higuaín’s shoulders would be ludicrous. This team has far greater problems at the other end of the pitch. Only once in the club’s top-flight history have they conceded more than the 54 goals that they shipped this season, and that was all the way back in 1946-47. Defeat left them fifth in the table, 15 points worse off than in either of their last two seasons.
Benítez is culpable here, although so is the (also departing) sporting director Riccardo Bigon. The club’s recent transfer activity has been poor. Andújar was an inadequate replacement for Pepe Reina in goal, while far too much was expected of the 23-year-old Kalidou Koulibaly at centre-back – a player whose poorly judged pass teed up the move that led to Lazio’s second goal. Jorginho has failed to fill the central midfield void that has undermined this team for years.
Such mistakes only appear more glaring in contrast to what Lazio have achieved. The Biancocelesti spent less than €15m combined on Parolo and De Vrij – players who made decisive contributions on Sunday just as they have done all season. The list of savvy recent signings could be extended to Dusan Basta and Filip Djordjevic last summer or Felipe Anderson and Lucas Biglia in 2013.
Lazio still have plenty of flaws, and a tendency to lose focus over 90 minutes is one of them. Sunday was not the first time this season that they have let a two-goal lead slip in an important game. But the opportunity to take on the best in Europe next season is well-earned. Only Juventus have played better football in Italy since January, and even the champions might have something to envy from Stefano Pioli’s side when it comes to attacking balance. On Sunday, Parolo and Candreva became the third and fourth Lazio players to score 10 or more Serie A goals this season. No other side can boast more than two players in double figures.
The path to the Champions League group stage remains complicated. Lazio are unlikely to be seeded for the playoff round draw, and could therefore be paired against the likes of Manchester United, Valencia or Bayer Leverkusen.
That, though, is a worry for another day. For now Lazio will celebrate their achievement in finishing third. The rest of us will just have to be satisfied to have been given such an entertaining match to savour, as we contemplate the long summer ahead.
Talking points to follow …
