\u201cStrikers win matches, but a strong defense wins championships\u201d. This is what one of Italy\u2019s greatest coaching legends \u2013 Arrigo Sacchi \u2013 stated after he was hired as head coach of A.C. Milan in the summer of 1987. Until Sacchi was hired by A.C. Milan had by far the majority of Serie A clubs and the Italian national team \u2013 \u201cGli Azzurri\u201d \u2013 practiced the \u201cCatenaccio system\u201d with a \u201cfree\u201d defender \u2013 \u201clibero\u201d \u2013 and 3-5 players, who followed the opponents\u2019 strikers, most often everywhere on the pitch. However, Sacchi introduced a new defense system with zone coverage of 4 defenders in line and a high ball pressure when the opponent team was ball-possessed. Likewise, Sacchi stressed that the distance between one\u2019s defensive and strikers should not be more than 20-25 meters. Sacchi\u2019s new tactical concept with the iconic back chain \u2013 Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti \u2013 combined with A.C. Milan\u2019s acquisition of the Dutch trio: Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten as well as the Italian national team players Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Donadoni \u2013 created in a short time one of the world\u2019s strongest club teams ever. AC Milan won in the late 1980\u2019s and through the 1990\u2019s 6 national championships and 3 Champions League titles (1989, 1990 and 1994).<\/p>\n
Sacchi\u2019s defense system as inspiration for European top coaches<\/strong><\/p>\n A number of top European clubs and coaches, including Jose Mourinho (F.C. Porto, F.C. Inter and Chelsea F.C.), Peb Guordiola (F.C. Barcelona, \u200b\u200bBayern Munich and Manchester City) and J\u00f6rgen Klopp (Borrusia Dortmund and Liverpool F.C.), have been greatly inspired by Arrigo Sacchi and A.C. Milan\u2019s game concept. And today, virtually all Serie A clubs use defensive formations with 4 players in line. In addition, the defenders\u2019 individual technical skills today are at an extremely high level. This is especially true of the S.S.C. Naples, as pt. leads Serie A with 32 points and who has only conceded 4 goals in 12 matches \u2013 7 goals less than A.C. Milan and 9 goals less than F.C. Inter, which must be considered the biggest favorites for the national championship \u2013 Il Scudetto.<\/p>\n A \u201csaviour\u201d brings titles and pride to a<\/strong>\u00a0poor city<\/strong><\/p>\n Societ\u00e0 Sportiva Calcio Napoli (S.S.C. Napoli) was founded in 1926 and the club has since spent the vast majority of seasons in Serie A. The club has always been the football pride of southern Italy, being exclusively S.S.C. Napoli, who have been able to seriously challenge the top clubs in Rome, Milan and Turin. However, it was not until 1962 that the club won the first title \u2013 Coppa Italia. Since then, the club has won the Italian Cup 6 times, most recently in 2020. S.S.C. Napoli\u2019s acquisition of superstar Diego Maradona from F.C. Barcelona in the summer of 1984 for the record amount of 80 million. DKK, however, changed everything for the Neapolitans. The first two seasons were a limited success for the little Argentine and his teammates, but in the 1986-1987 season, S.S.C. Naples for the first time \u201cIl Scudetto\u201d with the Brazilian Careca and the Italian national team players Ferrara, Crippa, Carnevale and De Napoli in the squard. In the 1989-1990 season, S.S.C. Napoli won the Italian championship, while it became two 2\u2019nd places in 1987-1988 and 1988-1989. Also on the international football scene, Maradona and his teammates strode all the way to the top of the UEFA Cup in 1989. In the spring of 1991, Maradona tested positive for doping, with which a long and painful downturn, both sporting and economic, began for S.S.C. Naples. In 2000, the club was relegated from Serie A and only three seasons later, the club was declared bankrupt with a debt of 80 million euros and forcibly relegated to Serie C. Despite S.S.C. Napoli played Italy\u2019s third best football series, nevertheless attracted the club an impressive number of spectators to their home matches \u2013 often more than 50,000 spectators. In the 2003-2004 season, S.S.C. Napoli \u2013 as a Serie C club \u2013 the third highest spectator average in all of Italy after F.C. Inter and A.C. Milan, but ahead of top clubs Juventus F.C., A.S. Rome and S.S. Lazio. In addition, the club also has many loyal fans outside of Italy.<\/p>\n S.S.C. Naples \u2013 Rebirth and championship favorite<\/strong><\/p>\n A rapid financial reconstruction, primarily funded by film director Aurelio De Laurentiis and who today remains the main shareholder in the club, brought S.S.C. Napoli back \u2013 first to Serie B in 2005-2006 and two years later to Serie A. And in the last decade, the club has continuously been among Italy\u2019s best, 4 times (2012-2013, 2015-2016, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019) as vice champions. The club has especially profiled itself on a very strong defense with Kalidou Koulibaly from Senegal as the biggest profile and the playmaker Lorenzo Insigne as the dominant attacking player.<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s best defense vs. best attack<\/strong><\/p>\n On Sunday, the S.S.C. Napoli on one of the season\u2019s most difficult matches against another championship favorite \u2013 F.C. Inter from Milan. The match is not just a duel between Southern Italy\u2019s football pride and one of Northern Italy\u2019s economically strongest and most sporting winning clubs. It\u2019s also a match between Serie A\u2019s best defense \u2013 S.S.C. Napoli \u2013 against the league\u2019s best attack \u2013 F.C. Inter \u2013 who in the first 12 games of the season have scored the most goals of all Serie A clubs \u2013 a total of 29. I look forward \u2013 together with my good mates Tino, J\u00f8rgen and Thorleif \u2013 to follow the match at the Stadio Guiseppe Meazza in Milan. It looks like a match with very few goals in advance, but football matches without goals can actually (also) be both interesting and very intense.<\/p>\n You can read more about Italian football and the two clubs here:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.legaseriea.it\/en<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.sscnapoli.it\/<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.inter.it\/en<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"