Hamsik thinks the squad is united and ready for its challenge

It's been a tough go of things for Napoli so far. The Champions League playoff was an unmitigated disaster that put a pall on the start of the season, and you could see that carry over to some extent when Napoli took the pitch against Genoa, as the side was largely flat for much of the match.

If there's one thing a tough start like this can do, though, it's bring a group of players together even more than before, especially when you throw a dramatic winner in your first league match on top of that. According to club captain Marek Hamsik, that's exactly what this start has done for Napoli's squad.

"The match against Genoa was an important victory, after a night of Bilbao was a bit 'out of sorts, "Hamsik said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the tie against Chievo Verona. "Then it was even more beautiful triumph in that extreme. The exultation on the bench after the goal from De Guzman in Genoa is a demonstration of our union. We are a team that wants to fight on all fronts. Till Christmas we will have games every three days, which will help the whole squad to deal with these commitments."

Seeing the squad come together like they did after Jonathan De Guzman scored was wonderful, especially in light of how rough things were for Napoli before that. It showed a spirit and camaraderie that you always want to see in a sports team, but seems to be rare in actually happening. It's something Rafa Benitez has always tried to foster in his squads, a group of players who aren't just good, but who want to support and fight for each other. A squad like that can play even better than their combined talents might normally perform, and can achieve a lot if they can keep it up.

On that note, Hamsik was asked about the club's goals and wanted to address the fans' demands for a Scudetto. "Can we say we want the Scudetto? Every day I hear this from the fans, but we want it too. We have to try."

Can't ask for much more than that.