Andre-Villas-Boas is a man seemingly on borrowed time as the Roman Empire looks destined to give the dreaded thumbs down on the Portuguese Chelsea career. The blue's face a rather daunting trip to Italy on Tuesday in the knockout phases of the champions league against Napoli, a side more famed for its ability to make headlines off the pitch rather than on it. If Rome has been dubbed 'stab city' by supporters travelling for European ties then the Neapolitan's have been doing their best to compete. Since entering Europe after a miraculous rise from the doldrums of Italian football, the Stadio San Paolo has been the place to be for the people of Naples who now have a team to be proud of once again. Sadly this pride is marred by incidents involving gang's of ultra's setting about perfecting their Zorro impersonations using visiting supporters backsides for target practise, with supporters most notably of Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich the latest to suffer at the hands of these knife wielding thugs.
So with both Villas-Boas and Chelsea supporters watching their backsides it's set to be an intriguing contest. After Arsenal's collapse in Milan, falling 4-0 to the Rossoneri, and with Manchester United and City giving us something to watch on a Thursday night other than Masterchef, the pressure is all on Chelsea to remain in the competition and keep Michel Platini tearing what's left of his hair out that an English side remains in the champions league.
Thing's won't be easy for Chelsea, on the pitch Napoli have only lost twice at home in the league this season and currently lie in 6th place with notable home victories in the champions league against Manchester City and Villareal. Off the pitch the threat remains high, having travelled to the stadium myself and taken note of the surrounding area there are many places Chelsea supporters face possible ambush if their guard slips. Naples is a city with many dark alleyways and very little by way of signs, disorientation is very easy if prior research hasn't been done.
Manchester City supporter Chris Taggart of Blackley in Manchester, along with his father, was attacked by knifemen on moped's who emerged from the darkness after the match had finished and the police escort had abandoned the travelling supporters, only an undercover Italian police officer's intervention saved both Chris and his dad's lives as Chris suffered a stab wound close to the kidney. Italian police declared after the match that no incidents had taken place and denied any problem's with supporters, unbelievable considering the accounts of away supporters being chased around the city when the game has yet to begin or has long since finished.
Chelsea supporters will no doubt get full safety details prior to leaving for Naples but then again their safety lies in the hands of Italian official's who's actions in previous visits by English supporters has been less than humane. The images that stay in my mind of the man with blood pouring from a head wound in the Manchester United end at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome as an armour-clad policeman stands over him wielding a baton along with all the unsavoury scenes behind the flimsy perspex wall that separates the two sets of supporters but offers no protection from the projectiles coming from the home end raining down onto the away supporters.
Are UEFA frightened of tackling this problem? Or is it seen as just desserts for the decades that English hooligans brought terror to the continent? Resulting of course in the Heysel disaster that Mr Platini was featuring in for Juventus. Either way, the English disease is in remission and reports of disorder abroad from English supporters is a rarity, Italy on the other hand has seemingly inherited our bad example and its down to UEFA and the Italian authorities to ensure that everyone coming to the game is there for the right reasons and feels safe in doing so.
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