Rafa Benitez has nearly achieved it all in his illustrious managerial career: Champions League and FA Cup winner with Liverpool, Europa League with Chelsea just a few years ago, UEFA Cup winner with Valencia, and Italian Cup winner with Napoli. The only thing he has yet to achieve is to win a major European trophy with an Italian side, and his quest for that illustrious fourth title in Europe begins tomorrow night at Trabzonspor, the first ever meeting between these two sides.
On the other hand, the Turks look to spoil Napoli's campaign trying to win their first ever major European trophy. The squads are contrasting to say the least as Napoli is filled with some well-known players amongst the footballing universe while Trabzonspor is mainly made up of Turkish players with a few experienced European veterans. Just like other major European fixtures hosted in Turkey, the atmosphere should be rocking for this one.
Napoli, managed by Spaniard Rafa Benitez, is looking to manage Napoli to its first major Europan title in 26 years when they were the 1989 UEFA Cup winners. As stated earlier, Napoli is filled with some world renowned players, led by captain Marik Hamsik and tallisman Gonzalo Higuain. Also, let's not forget about other key contributors such as Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens, and Gokhan Inler. As it stands, they are in third in Serie A just behind Roma but are just ahead of Fiorentina. Trying to chase down Roma for second is pivotal for The Blues as they want to avoid the same fate they had last season finishing third then losing in the Champions League Playoffs to Athletic Bilbao. In their last five league games, Napoli picked up nine points out of a possible fifteen, and in the cup, they defeated Inter Milan in the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup setting up a semifinals showdown with Lazio.
Napoli's Road to the Knockout Stages: Napoli was drawn into Group I with Young Boys, Sparta Prague, and Slovan Bratislava. The Blues kicked off their campaign with a flying start with a 3-1 and a 2-0 win over Prague and Bratislava, but their trip to Switzerland wasn't the best of times dropping the match 2-0 to Young Boys. Napoli only dropped points once in their return legs which was a draw at Prague. They exacted their revenge on Young Boys as a Jonathan de Guzman capped off a a magnificent night with a hat-trick. On Matchday 6, Napoli needed to win tie or better the result of Young Boys to finish atop the group, and they did just that with a 3-0 win over Bratislava. A win over Trabzonspor tomorrrow would put the Italian side in great position to equal their Round of 16 appearance from last season. The Blues will be missing some of their stars tomorrow as Zuniga and Insigne are out (knee) and Michu, who is on loan from Swansea, is out with an ankle injury. Captain Marik Hamsik is doubtful with a thigh injury.
Trabzonspor, is one of the Turkey's most successful clubs taking six league titles and eight Turkish Cups. This spring, the Turks look to turn it around having never won in the knockout stages of the Europa League losing both legs to both PSV and Juventus. The Black Sea side, managed by Ersun Yasal, who is very attack-minded, is currently under his second spell at the club having managed the club 2007-2009. It should be remembered that most of this side is Turkish with the odd foreign player. Some of these players have played on the some of the biggest clubs in Europe such as Jose Bosingwa, Oscar Cardozo, and Kevin Constant. Currently, Trabzonspor are fifth in the league which would mean they would finish just outside of Europe. The Turks have have not loss in their last five games with three wins and two draw. On the flip side, they were knocked out by Sivasspor in the Turkish Cup.
Trabzonspor's Road to the Knockout Stages: The Turks were placed into Group L in what was probably one of the weakest groups in the Europa League with Legia Warsaw, Lokeren, and Metalist Kharkiv. Their first three games saw them pick up six points with wins over Kharkiv and Lokeren. In their last three games though, they struggles only earning four points. On Matchday 6, Warsaw stopped the Turks winning 2-0, but the Belgian side Lokeren could only a muster a 1-0 win which meant Trabzonspor would go through on goal differential as both sides finished the group stages with ten points. Two vital players are going to miss this game for Trabzonspor as Bosingwa is out(thigh) and Kevin Constant(suspended). With both sides missing key players, this matchup looks like it might be a stalemate, but Napoli's firepower should give them a slight advantage heading into Naples.