Maradona’s spirit prevails Reflections on the Napoli–Qarabağ match

It’s very difficult to talk about a lost battle when everyone has already seen what happened. Especially when everyone you know personally, know by reputation, or don’t know at all, was rooting for Qarabağ. But I will try nonetheless…

As I noted yesterday, this match was absolutely crucial for Conte’s squad, who had earned only three points before facing Qarabağ. On top of that, the game took place on the day of remembrance for the great Argentinian who led Napoli to their first-ever league title. The Argentinian, thanks to whom millions of people around the world, including in our country, fell in love with football. The Argentinian after whom the Neapolitans named their stadium. We are, of course, talking about Maradona.

I wouldn’t be wrong to say that last night, the spirit of the Argentinian became the team’s 12th player—a fact reflected both in the way the game was played and in the scoreline that doesn’t fully capture it (2–0 in favour of Napoli).

Without fear of sounding subjective, one can say that Gurban Gurbanov’s squad was hardly inferior to Conte’s team in any aspect. Judge for yourself: possession was nearly equal at 51% to 49%, pass accuracy 89% to 86%, shots on goal 18 to 11, corners 6 to 4. In other words, there was no overwhelming advantage for the Italian club at all! Simply put, to paraphrase one of the greats, “God that evening was an Argentinian supporting the Italians.”

The only player who dared to defy the “higher powers” was Qarabağ’s goalkeeper, Kochalski, who brilliantly saved Rasmus Højlund’s penalty. But, as it turned out, that only seemed to anger the “spirit of Maradona,” and within seven minutes, two goals had flown into our net.

Of course, one could argue that the result was also influenced by Gurbanov’s highly questionable substitutions. But, to be honest, Samy Mmaee, who came on for Kevin Medina, was not at fault for either of the goals conceded. And the own goal was scored by Janković, not Kaschuk, who replaced Andrade.

Nevertheless, as we all know, everything may be forgotten, but the result remains. And the result is this: after five matches, Qarabağ has seven points, with three crucial games still ahead.

While little is likely to come of the trip to face Liverpool in England—even a draw would be difficult—the struggling Ajax (with zero points after five Champions League matches) and the highly inconsistent Eintracht are teams our players simply must beat in order to make it into the top 24, who will continue in Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

And that Qarabağ can achieve this, without even needing to “jump above their heads,” is now beyond doubt. Don’t you agree, gentlemen?

By Vugar Vugarli, exclusively for Caliber.Az