The review of Napoli's 2011/2012 season depicted a campaign with plenty of fond memories but ultimately tinged with some regret and the same could quite easily be said for this term. Looking at the cold hard facts, Napoli have enjoyed their best Serie A season since the days when a certain Diego Armando Maradona donned the shirt, finishing second place in the table. They also had the second best defence in the league and Edinson Cavani bagged 29 league goals to finish as Serie A's leading marksman whilst the team were the highest scorers also. However, the gap between the Partenopei and champions, Juventus, looked like a chasm at times. Cavani, whilst hitting that incredible number of overall goals, stopped scoring for six weeks amid controversy about his private life which just happened to occur at a decisive time in the season for the club. They performed poorly in the cup competitions, tamely exiting the Coppa Italia which they were holders of and the Europa League which they were tipped by many to win. Nevertheless, that doesn't take away from what has been a very profitable season overall for Walter Mazzarri's men. The manager had to deal with the loss of Ezequiel Lavezzi who was an integral part of Napoli's success and style of play in recent years. However, Mazzarri showed his tactical nous by making a slight adjustment to his formation - now employing a 3-4-1-2 with Marek Hamsik being given a more central role behind the strikers. The Slovakian flourished in that position with several goals and assists, giving Cavani a run for his money as a potential player of the season. Valon Behrami was their best signing with his tenacious performances in the centre of the park and fellow Swiss international Blerim Dzemaili contributed with some important, as well as spectacular, goals from midfield. In attack, outside Cavani, Goran Pandev squeezed out a few more fine displays from his ageing legs whilst Lorenzo Insigne showed glimpses of the future. Hugo Campagnaro was a calming influence at the back with his clean tackling and ability to bring the ball out from defence. He looks set to join Inter Milan though and Cavani's signature is being coveted by every big club around Europe. However, perhaps the biggest loss has already been felt as the club said goodbye to Mazzarri who will seek a new challenge at Inter. Rafael Benetiz will take charge after a controversial but ultimately successful spell at Chelsea. It will be interesting to see if the Spaniard is able to keep hold of Cavani or indeed sufficiently replace him. Having been in the eye of the storm for much of his previous job, Benetiz will probably not be intimidated by his new post. Plenty will be expected of him, especially in the Champions League, as Napoli look to improve again next season.
