OfMonica Scozzafava, sent to Naples
The new Napoli coach was presented at the Palazzo Reale and the president gave him space and time. He trusts: «Antonio is doing business», then he flies to Germany to convince Kvara
If the protagonist of the main scene is no longer “him” but “the other”, something has really changed. A good start or at least a new beginning: the president of Napoli Aurelio De Laurentiis sits next to Antonio Conte on the stage of the Teatrino di Corte of Palazzo Reale, he listens to him, smiles, leaves him space and time: for an hour and three quarters the spotlight is focused only on the new coach. Conte has many things to say, without unnecessary diplomacy: few frills, a lot of emotion, especially at the beginning, when he receives applause without even having begun to speak. Impeccable in blue suit and white shirt, the tanned face stands out. Bright look. “I’m a manager and I want to have a say, I didn’t come to Naples to be a figurine on the nativity scene, the president knows this.”
The audience of the Royal Palace
De Laurentiis looks at him with satisfaction and simply adds: «I chose him precisely for this reason, Antonio does business». Four hundred guests were invited to what is undoubtedly an event – in the front row the mayor Manfredi, the president of the Region De Luca, the head of the Industrialists Iannotti Pecci – for the city which, after the championship hangover, woke up mortified by the tenth place in ranking: all in a few months.
The Kvara and Di Lorenzo affair: they remain here
While Rocco Hunt rehearses for his concert in Piazza del Plebiscito, Conte lights up the stage at «Corte» (“never had a presentation like this before” he says while looking around a bit in disbelief). He answers every question on the merits, the most uncomfortable ones do not embarrass him (never a we will see, we will do, we will decide: the future is now, the declinations are all in the present), on the contrary he dictates his law, a new law. «I already have everything in mind, Napoli is a strong team and my conditions were clear: I decide who stays and who goes». He goes straight to the heart of the problem. The reference to By Lorenzo And Kvara it’s all too obvious, he doesn’t even try to mislead. «They are two important players, fundamental for us. The captain, in addition to being a top player, is a respectable person, he is fundamental in our locker room. I understand the frustration with last season but we are here to rebuild.” Conte doesn’t have (and he says so) any recipe for victory (“I can’t promise it, it’s difficult. Only one team can do it”) but he proposes seriousness and passion.
Why Conte chose Naples
«No chatter, there must be no confusion here but clarity. There are fundamental players like Lobotka, Anguissa who don’t move from here. I talked about it with De Laurentiis from the first moment of our negotiation.” The former Tottenham explains his choice of Naples, dictated by the desire to start again from the South, his homeland, by the club’s project and reveals that he smiled when someone told him: but aren’t you afraid of going there? “Fear of what? This is a challenge that came at the right time for me as a man and as a coach. Nobody has ever given me anything, sweat and effort are the concepts that I pass on to my daughter and my footballers. With these we will fill the salary cap gap. If someone is dissatisfied, he sits next to me on the bench and we try to bring back their enthusiasm.” The Naples world has studied it well, Conte. He reels off the merciless numbers from last season: 48 goals conceded, 15th worst defense, 27 goals conceded at home. «Disconcerting data. It’s not just the fault of the goalkeeper and defender but of the whole team. The squad is a good starting point but we will do something on the market to make it even better.”
Osimhen and Lukaku
Osimhen Chapter, the only player who escapes his control. «I knew his situation beforehand. These are things that were established when I wasn’t there.” Lukaku is his plan A, he doesn’t deny it. He admits that Romelu (he calls him by name) is «an excellent player, it’s always better to have him on our side». The Napoli coach, in the city with his wife Elisabetta and daughter Vittoria, has already started the engines. «Here there is passion, fire, I immediately felt something in my belly». De Laurentiis elegantly left the stage to him, from today he becomes the lead actor again: with DS Manna and the CEO of the club Keys flies to Germany for Kvara’s new contract. A good start.
June 27, 2024
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