Marek Hamsik may claim that there is no bad blood between himself and Rafa Benitez but it's difficult to deny that their relationship didn't end on sour terms. The Slovakian will prepare for his second successive season playing in Europe's second-tier competition after his side ended the season outside the top three for the first time since the 2011/12 campaign.
There were many casualties during the Benitez epoch in Naples but perhaps no-one suffered as greatly under the Spaniard's tutelage than Hamsik himself. Once an all-encompassing, wizard of the midfield, Hamsik became shackled under the methodical, often soporific, brand of Benitezism.
Maurizio Sarri represents the antithesis to his predecessor in regards to style, however, and his excellent work at Empoli -- where he kept the club afloat in Serie A despite operating with the lowest wage bill in the division -- was enough to land him the job in Naples.
Should the Italian live-up to his pre-season billing, Hamsik may be in for the season of his career.
Hamstrung by Benitez
As we were made firmly cognisant of during his tenure on the touchline, Benitez rarely liked to deviate from his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation. The onus was placed upon the wide duo during transitions and Hamsik's role was to merely provide support for Gonzalo Higuain leading the line. Benitez's side normally rely upon a considerable goal output from the frontman so Hamsik, a silky dribbler from deep, became the chief provider for the Argentine spearheading the attack.
When Napoli found themselves on the backfoot meanwhile -- as they so did during European clashes -- the creative mantel lay with the wide pair, as Hamsik often laboured forward waiting eagerly for deflections and scraps. The Slovakian may have concluded the season with ten assists and seven goals to his name, but by his own incredibly high standards it was a noticeably frustrating 12 months.
When weighed against his 2012/13 campaign under the auspices of Walter Mazzarri, where he was deployed deeper in the pitch towards the tail end of the previous season, Hamsik's significance to his side under Benitez was considerably less. He found the net 11 times during that campaign compared to a modest seven under Benitez last season, while his assist tally stood at 14 compared to 10 during the Spaniard's final season.
Similarly, WhoScored also note that the 28-year-old was less willing to take risks under Benitez, averaging only 1.5 key passes per-game compared to an eye-popping 2.7 under his predecessor. When tasked with bringing the ball upfield as he so often was under Mazzarri, Hamsik averaged 1.6 dribbles per-game. While shoehorned into an attacking midfielder by Benitez, in contrast, the Slovakian averaged only 0.8.
Speaking to Mediaset Premium recently about life under the Spaniard, Hamsik noted: "In the two years under Benitez we always played the same system, always the same 4-2-3-1 and he never spoke to me about playing deeper."
Hamsik, who reaffirmed his desire to remain part of project in Naples at the end of last season, went onto clarify that Sarri had spoken to him and decided to experiment with him in a "three-man midfield" during pre-season.
A renaissance akin to Ricardo Saponara's at Sarri's ex-employers
Under the stewardship of Sarri, the career of 23 year-old Italian midfielder Ricardo Saponara took a sharp upturn in fortune.
Jettisoned by Milan after the arrivals of Kaka and Keisuke Honda, Sarri took the Italian under his wing and his decision was made to bear fruit when Saponara became an integral part of his system after he arrived in January. Deployed as a trequartista behind Manuel Pucciarelli and Massimo Maccarone, the Italian proved a breath of fresh air as Empoli, whose highest paid player pockets only €300,000 per annum, defied the odds and beat the drop.
Cries of a call-up to Antonio Conte's Azzurri squad may have been premature, but his growth under the 56 year-old was so marked that Empoli were forced to reject a bid from Sarri's new employers earlier this month for Saponara's services.
In 17 domestic appearances, the 23 year-old netted seven times while racking up a further three assists. As Sarri preaches, he pressed from the front, drifted between midfield lines and was not one to shirk responsibility. The Napoli fraternity are still haunted by the 4-2 desecration suffered at the hands of Empoli in April, where Saponara netted once and, dovetailing with the front duo, gave the Napoli reargued an evening to forget.
Sarri has openly stated that given the array of widemen on Napoli's roster, he may opt for a 4-3-3 to begin the new season. That would automatically assume Hamsik to be stationed in a deeper role and should the Italian place the creative burden on the shoulder's of the 28-year-old, we may finally begin to see flashes of the pre-Benitez dynamism from the Slovakian that helped solidify Napoli's place among the top three teams in the country.
With the midfield additions this summer, Hamsik holds the key
Should Sarri utilise summer arrivals Mirko Valdifiori and Allan alongside the Slovakian, Hamsik would represent the only attack-minded midfielder out of trio.
Granted, Benitez was a firm believer in deploying two defensive-minded midfielders infront of the back four, but he certainly made no indications that he wanted a ball-carrier in his midfield three. Hamsik done most of his work in advanced areas with his back to goal and it was no coincidence that the Slovakian flourished when he was forced back alongside his midfield partners during their memorable 4-1 triumph over Wolfsburg.
Benitez negated his strengths as he believed that the key to Napoli's progression lay with the goalscoring prowess of Higuain. That is perhaps why it has been mooted that Benitez plans to utilise Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale in the centre-forward role at Real Madrid, because he firmly believes that a side's most dangerous assets should be deployed where they are able to directly effect the scoreline.
Both Valdifiori and Allan are, on paper at least, astute acquisitions and it is perhaps the arrival of the duo, both of whom do their best work when deployed deeper, that may encourage Sarri to experiment Hamsik in his principal midfield role.