Pepe Reina is not short on experience and is having one of the best seasons of his career at the back of Napoli’s defence.
Although Napoli does not have the best defensive record of the season, their good record can mostly be put down to Reina’s heroics more often than not. Particularly in the match against Inter Milan, this was prevalent. Napoli, with a man advantage and leading by a goal, were under all sorts of pressure when a diving Reina touched a ball already behind him onto the post and to safety which won the game for them.
Reina may not necessarily be the most by-the-book gloveman, but he does his job above and beyond what is expected of him. He has denied efforts which looked certain to find the net and has been key to Napoli’s good form, providing the confidence a quality goalkeeper can deliver.
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Reina’s case is the perfect example of how a good goalkeeper can fill the defence in front of him with confidence. It is not always the case as some would see with Manchester United’s defensive issues, but this does not apply to the Napoli perspective.
He fits the Napoli style of play, which is led by the attack. This is just another one of Reina’s traits. Sticking with the Premier League examples, the well known criticisms of Simon Mignolet is his distribution from the back.
When watching Napoli and Reina with the ball, more often than not, he will be looking to kick-start an attacking move with the world-class quality Napoli possess in their attacking half of the field. This is an element of goalkeeping that can sometimes be overlooked.
Reina was a terrific buy from Liverpool and will be key to Napoli’s continued title tilt. Sometimes, the attack needs to take a back seat and the defensive needs to be put under the microscope. Every goal counts and having Reina in goals will raise Napoli’s chances of winning the Scudetto this season.
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