# 2015–16 SSC Napoli season

The 2015–16 season was Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli's 70th season in Serie A. The team competed in Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Europa League. In Serie A Napoli enjoyed an immense season, finishing in 2nd place and having been in 1st place for much of the mid-season period. Star striker Gonzalo Higuaín became the player with the most goals in a single season in all of Serie A history, with 36 goals, overtaking Gunnar Nordahl's long-standing record of 35. Napoli were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia by Inter. In the UEFA Europa League, Napoli finished with a perfect 6–0–0 record in the group stage, scoring 22 goals in the process. However, this form did not continue into the knockout phase, where they were eliminated in the round of 32, 2–1 on aggregate by Spanish side and eventual semi-finalists Villarreal.
On 25 May 2015 coach Rafael Benítez was signed by Real Madrid to replace Carlo Ancelotti. Former Empoli manager Maurizio Sarri replaced Benítez on 12 June.

## Players
### Squad information

    As of 2 February 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | BRA | Rafael |
| 2 | DF | ALB | Elseid Hysaj |
| 3 | DF | CRO | Ivan Strinić |
| 5 | MF | BRA | Allan |
| 6 | MF | ITA | Mirko Valdifiori |
| 7 | FW | ESP | José Callejón |
| 8 | MF | ITA | Jorginho |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Gonzalo Higuaín |
| 11 | DF | ITA | Christian Maggio (vice-captain) |
| 14 | FW | BEL | Dries Mertens |
| 17 | MF | SVK | Marek Hamšík (captain) |
| 18 | DF | ITA | Vasco Regini |
| 19 | MF | ESP | David López |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | ITA | Jacopo Dezi |
| 21 | DF | ROU | Vlad Chiricheș |
| 22 | GK | BRA | Gabriel (on loan from Milan) |
| 23 | FW | ITA | Manolo Gabbiadini |
| 24 | FW | ITA | Lorenzo Insigne |
| 25 | GK | ESP | Pepe Reina |
| 26 | DF | SEN | Kalidou Koulibaly |
| 31 | DF | ALG | Faouzi Ghoulam |
| 33 | DF | ESP | Raúl Albiol |
| 77 | MF | MAR | Omar El Kaddouri |
| 94 | MF | ENG | Nathaniel Chalobah (on loan from Chelsea) |
| 96 | DF | ITA | Sebastiano Luperto |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Player | Age | Moving from | Fee |
| 20 June 2015 | MF | Mirko Valdifiori | 29 | Empoli | €5.5M |
| 23 June 2015 | GK | Pepe Reina | 32 | Bayern Munich | €2M |
| 22 July 2015 | MF | Allan | 24 | Udinese | €12M |
| 30 July 2015 | DF | Vlad Chiricheș | 25 | Tottenham Hotspur | €6.2M |
| 3 August 2015 | DF | Elseid Hysaj | 21 | Empoli | €5M |
| 11 August 2015 | MF | Raffaele Maiello | 24 | Crotone | €1.5M |

#### Loans in

| Date | Pos. | Player | Age | Moving from | Fee | Notes | Source |
| 15 July 2015 | GK | Gabriel | 22 | Milan | Loan | | |
| 1 September 2015 | MF | Nathaniel Chalobah | 20 | Chelsea | Loan | | |
Total expenditure: €32.2 million

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Player | Age | Moving to | Fee |
| 3 July 2015 | MF | Walter Gargano | 30 | Monterrey | €1.4M |
| 13 July 2015 | GK | Roberto Colombo | 39 | Cagliari | Free |
| 22 July 2015 | DF | Miguel Britos | 30 | Watford | Free |
| 19 August 2015 | MF | Gökhan Inler | 31 | Leicester City | €4.2M |
| 24 August 2015 | FW | Eduardo Vargas | 25 | Hoffenheim | €5M |
| 11 January 2016 | DF | Henrique | 29 | Fluminense | Undisclosed |

#### Loans out

| Date | Pos. | Player | Age | Moving to | Fee | Notes | Source |
| 28 January 2016 | MF | Jonathan de Guzmán | 28 | Carpi | | | |
Total revenue: €10.6 million
Net income: €21.6 million

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Current position | Final position | First match | Last match |
| Serie A | Matchday 1 | — | Runners-up | 23 August 2015 | 15 May 2016 |
| Coppa Italia | Round of 16 | — | Quarter-finals | 16 December 2015 | 19 January 2016 |
| Europa League | Group stage | — | Round of 32 | 17 September 2015 | 25 February 2016 |
Last updated: 15 May 2016

### Serie A
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Juventus (C) | 38 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 75 | 20 | +55 | 91 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Napoli | 38 | 25 | 7 | 6 | 80 | 32 | +48 | 82 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Roma | 38 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 83 | 41 | +42 | 80 | Qualification to Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Internazionale | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 50 | 38 | +12 | 67 | Qualification to Europa League group stage |
| 5 | Fiorentina | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 60 | 42 | +18 | 64 | Qualification to Europa League group stage |
* ↑ Since the winners of the 2015–16 Coppa Italia, Juventus, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners (Europa League group stage) was passed to fifth-placed team and the spot awarded to the fifth-placed team (Europa League third qualifying round) was passed to the sixth-placed team.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 14 May 2016. Source: Competitive matches

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | D | D | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | D | D | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | W |
| Position | 14 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |

#### Matches
### UEFA Europa League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NAP | MID | BRU | LEG |
| 1 | Napoli | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | +19 | 18 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 5–0 | 5–0 | 5–2 |
| 2 | Midtjylland | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 7 | Advance to knockout phase | 1–4 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Club Brugge | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 5 | | 0–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Legia Warsaw | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 4 | | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — |

#### Knockout phase
##### Round of 32
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Serie A | Serie A | Coppa Italia | Coppa Italia | Europa League | Europa League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | BRA | Rafael | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | GK | BRA | Gabriel | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | ESP | Pepe Reina | 44 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ALB | Elseid Hysaj | 43 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | CRO | Ivan Strinić | 13 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | ITA | Christian Maggio | 15 | 1 | 4+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5+1 | 1 |
| 18 | DF | ITA | Vasco Regini | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ROU | Vlad Chiricheș | 17 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 26 | DF | SEN | Kalidou Koulibaly | 42 | 0 | 32+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | ALG | Faouzi Ghoulam | 38 | 0 | 32+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ESP | Raúl Albiol | 39 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 96 | DF | ITA | Sebastiano Luperto | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | BRA | Allan | 43 | 3 | 32+3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ITA | Mirko Valdifiori | 15 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ITA | Jorginho | 38 | 0 | 32+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SVK | Marek Hamšík | 46 | 8 | 38 | 6 | 0+2 | 0 | 5+1 | 2 |
| 19 | MF | ESP | David López | 35 | 1 | 6+19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ITA | Jacopo Dezi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | MF | MAR | Omar El Kaddouri | 26 | 3 | 0+20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4+1 | 1 |
| 88 | MF | ITA | Alberto Grassi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 94 | MF | ENG | Nathaniel Chalobah | 9 | 1 | 0+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | ESP | José Callejón | 47 | 13 | 35+3 | 7 | 1+1 | 1 | 5+2 | 5 |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Gonzalo Higuaín | 42 | 38 | 35 | 36 | 1+1 | 0 | 2+3 | 2 |
| 14 | FW | BEL | Dries Mertens | 40 | 11 | 6+27 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| 23 | FW | ITA | Manolo Gabbiadini | 30 | 9 | 4+19 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4+2 | 4 |
| 24 | FW | ITA | Lorenzo Insigne | 42 | 13 | 34+3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3+2 | 1 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
Last updated: 14 May 2016 Source: Competitions

### Goalscorers

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA EL | Total |
| 1 | 9 | FW | | Gonzalo Higuaín | 36 | 0 | 2 | 38 |
| 2 | 7 | FW | | José Callejón | 7 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| 2 | 24 | FW | | Lorenzo Insigne | 12 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | 14 | FW | | Dries Mertens | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| 5 | 23 | FW | | Manolo Gabbiadini | 5 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| 6 | 17 | MF | | Marek Hamšík | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 7 | 5 | MF | | Allan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | 77 | MF | | Omar El Kaddouri | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | 21 | DF | | Vlad Chiricheș | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | DF | | Christian Maggio | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | 19 | MF | | David López | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 33 | DF | | Raúl Albiol | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 94 | MF | | Nathaniel Chalobah | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Own goal | Own goal | Own goal | Own goal | Own goal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 80 | 3 | 23 | 106 |
Last updated: 14 May 2016

### Clean sheets

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA EL | Total |
| 1 | 25 | GK | | Pepe Reina | 15 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
| 2 | 22 | GK | | Gabriel | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 15 | 1 | 4 | 20 |
Last updated: 14 May 2016