Antonio Conte is living with enthusiasm and enthusiasm for his first day as coach of Naples. During a massive event at the city’s Royal Palace, before authorities and more than 400 guests, the coach won applause and increased the excitement surrounding his figure by speaking very clearly about the short-term objectives of a team that went from a scudetto legendary to a disastrous tenth place: “What I can promise is seriousness. My hard-working mentality, my philosophy, and my football ideas. To make history you have to make the fans proud. Our main objective is this. In football you lose and you win, but what I can promise is that we are going to give absolutely everything.”
Desire: “My Naples will have an angry face for everything that has not worked in the last year. We are going to transfer this desire from any point of view, football and mental.”
Decision: “I chose Naples because of its project. I signed a three-year contract and the president spoke very clearly about what we can do. We are going to try in the shortest possible time to turn Naples, once again, into an alternative to the teams that always win. The club spent 14 consecutive years in Europe, they have won titles and last year was negative, we must rebuild. It will take time and patience, but we are going to take this responsibility and we want the Azzurri to soon be an alternative to those who always win the scudetto. I was excited, I felt something in my stomach when they proposed it to me, I received very interesting others from abroad, but there was a promise with De Laurentiis: that we would have seen each other again once the season was over. We did it and everything fell into place perfectly.”
South: “I am a southerner, I was born in Lecce and I preserve my origins, I know what football means in the South. It’s like coming home, for me, representing the team that represents the South. It is a great satisfaction.”
Moment: “The club is 40 points behind the team that won the league and last year’s numbers cannot be hidden. We have a project, we cannot compete with the big teams for salaries and investments, but we can do so by creating solid foundations with work, desire and sacrifice. We are going to try to get closer without wasting too much time, because they know that I do not have much patience in this regard.”
Cases in the locker room: “We are managing them together with the club. I was very clear with the president: I wanted to decide who would stay and who could leave. If we talk about reconstruction and then all the best leave, it doesn’t make sense, but the club is with me on that. I called all the players to communicate my ideas, I listened to theirs, and in the end if there are problems they will be resolved. Those who stay must give 200%: there is no confusion and we have very clear ideas.”
Say Lorenzo and Kvara: “They are two top players, serious and important people for the dressing room. Last year’s results created unclear situations, but the players know that these difficult moments can pass.”
Osimhen: “You have a different situation and I cannot enter into this speech, there are agreements prior to my arrival and I accept them.”
Successes with Juve, Chelsea and Inter: “What I can see in common is Chelsea, who two years before won the League and then finished in tenth place. Honestly, I think something incredible was done there, you know the powers that are in the Premier, much more than four. I can’t promise to win, because only one wins. What I do promise is that we will start a journey in which we must be competitive to win. “We are going to talk little and pedal, we have to do a lot and talk little.”
Challenge: “I am a coach who has matured his experience and I live this with enthusiasm. They asked me if I was afraid, I didn’t understand why: it’s a pleasure to be here. I know the difficulties, but they never gave me anything, I have always sacrificed for all my achievements and it is the message I send to my daughter, who is here, and to my players.”
Lukaku: “He is an excellent player, like Osimhen, I can only admire him. You hope to have players like that always by your side and never against you.”
Goals: “Naples had 48 goals against, 27 of which were at home: the 15th worst defense at home. What you have to do is regain balance, I have never seen a team win with defenses that receive so many goals. Being too offensive is useless, but neither is being too defensive: you have to find a middle ground. When you concede goals, it’s not just the fault of the defenders and the goalkeeper. There are many names, we will look for the best profile respecting our parameters.”
Mindset: “The past is already in the past, but in moments of difficulty we will have to think about the fact that two years ago the scudetto was won here. We have to take the pain from the past year inside, because it will help us do something more, which is what we need.”
Drawings: “The characteristics of the players are very important, I will never follow an idea of mine that harms the footballers. We are going to change several drawings, I am going to work with the boys, I am talking about things I saw on TV: when I am with them, I am going to know the strength of each one.”
Kvara: “Kvara stays. I’m going to be clear with that, I don’t want to talk about it again. I hope I don’t have to repeat it. Khvicha can play well in the interior of the field and also on the wing, we must adapt well to his characteristics, which are an important resource for us. We are going to decide when he will defend with five players, against very tough opponents, or with four. The way of attacking, on the other hand, will always be very similar.”
Ibra: “I respect everyone, I don’t remember exactly what he said: if you think I’m a ‘manager’, that’s how it is. “I want to give my opinion on and off the field: perhaps, in other parts, this could bother.”
Message to rivals: “Today is not the time to talk, it is the time to do and not to say. He has bothered me, from the outside, what has happened to the team, I can’t imagine it from the inside. That said, I’m not going to deny what I said eight months ago in Trento: ‘when I come back, it’s going to be hard for everyone.’ I have not come just so that my statuette is in the nativity scene, although this is an honor. “I have received a lot without having given anything yet, it is something that has never happened to me and I must return all this trust.”
Future: “I hope that this journey of three or more years can serve to ensure that Naples is not a transition stage. Those who come here must know that we play to win titles. If someone is not happy, let them come talk to me: with my coaching staff we will find something to have a good time…”
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