🎥 Napoli, Conte: De Bruyne raises our level, we’re favourites for the title

The badge on the chest and the mind already projected towards the future: the Italian champion Napoli is already on its second day of work in Dimaro in view of the 2025/2026 season.

Today the word goes to Antonio Conte, in a press conference at 15:30: the coach is ready to officially start the second act of his story with the Azzurri.

There are already 5 purchases in Dimaro to work with you from the first day. You said ‘I would like to start in pole for once’, do you feel like you’re in pole now?

“When I talked about having a very tested team… I hope it happens. We have to think about ourselves, what we are, and what we also want to become. We started a new project together with the president and the club last year, starting from very limited bases. We started from tenth place and the goal in three years is to create solid foundations to last over time. It happened in the past with other clubs, I am a builder and I hope to do it with Napoli as well. We achieved an incredible goal in the first year because it was not expected for many reasons, due to structure and preparation, but we succeeded, but let’s not forget that for me nothing changes. The work of reconstruction, inserting new pieces to give solid foundations, the club knows well, we are all in agreement in saying that the path continues, but it continues with a Scudetto on our chest which is nice to see, it is part of history”.

How did you find De Bruyne? Does he represent a further step up?

“We all hope so, saying it today on the second day is difficult, we’ll see what impact he’ll have at the end of the year. We’re talking about a player who doesn’t need introductions, we wanted to raise the quality of the squad and with him we certainly raise the quality. We’re talking about one of the midfielders who for many years was among the strongest in the world, he won everything, now he comes to us for a new challenge and certainly also for him it’s different from City but he’s settled well into the reality and we’re happy to have him with us. In a reconstruction process, to rebuild the team he’s already established, he’s not like those who are arriving who we consider good, but still young who will be here for many years, continuing to improve and I’ll have to be good at improving those who arrive. There’s a lot of work to be done, but we’re ready”.

What do the new purchases bring?

“They are different situations, De Bruyne is a player who has already reached very high levels, he still has a lot to give to football and he made this choice because he wants to get involved and have an experience in our country. It’s not like when I played, but it’s always a pleasure to play here. He’s already established, the others have value, they come at a different age and to try to structure Napoli not only for the present but also for the future. We give them time to settle in, it will take some time and we are convinced that the path taken is to give a solid structure also when I leave in 5, 7, 10 years I don’t know, but whoever arrives will find a structure that will still work and that’s the most beautiful thing for Napoli and for the fans”.

Which team can have more hunger to worry Napoli?

“The three big teams have been dethroned, it’s a reason for pride, at the same time we have to look at ourselves, like last year, thinking about improving, growing, but it’s inevitable that when you wear the Scudetto on your shirt you start as favorites or among the favorites and we have to know this very well. We can’t shy away from it, you have the Scudetto on your shirt, then we know very well that after Juventus’ cycle then different teams followed and this makes us understand the difficulty but we’ve already seen it two seasons ago and with the Scudetto on our shirt we finished tenth. This experience made gives more strength to the whole environment to understand that it won’t be easy, we’ll have to be compact because things will never be easy, in absolute terms, but it’s valid for everyone”.

Many already give you as favorites, how do you manage the pressure?

“We have the Scudetto on our shirt, by definition, we start as favorites or among the favorites, but we can’t shy away from it out of fear or to hide, we’ve done a lot for that Scudetto on our shirt and it must be stimulating for the season. Everyone will have to be stimulated to understand how and how much we’ll defend it, there’s a recent past that we can’t forget, from negative things as I said we have to draw lessons. Humility will be needed, no flights of fancy, work is our strength. The environment will have to be very intelligent, we win together or we don’t go anywhere together, if we finish tenth we all finish tenth not just the coach, the president, or the team”.

Last year you arrived and said that the goal would be to return to Europe. This year what is the goal that De Laurentiis has set for you?

“The president is very intelligent, he doesn’t set me any goals. The goal is to make the Neapolitan people proud, a symbiosis has been created, I remember all the sell-outs since the Coppa Italia preliminaries despite all the difficulties. The Neapolitan people have seen a team that, despite everything, sweated their shirt and this must not change. Remember that only one team wins and it’s not said that the others have failed”.

You coined the slogan ‘amma faticà’, for this season instead?

“As soon as the championship was over, they asked me, I said ‘amma faticà again’, it can work at the European level with the addition in English. If we want to stay in Neapolitan, we can do ‘amma faticà ma chiu’ assai’ and we stay on topic. We will have competitions, the new Champions League, the Super Cup, the Coppa Italia, and we are preparing to compete and make ourselves and the fans proud”.

How important is it to have a solid structure compared to last year?

“The importance is notable, in our hotel I saw the photo from last year and it makes you think about the path taken in the first year in the retreat. We came here with many young players, few players who remained, I asked the club to see them and evaluate them and we made other choices. If we go and see who remained, I counted 6-7. This year we return with the Scudetto on our chest, with all the confirmed players from last year, and it’s another situation and players are arriving because in June we married a vision that doesn’t just look at the present but also at the future and we’re following this line. In addition to raising the quality of the squad, we have the need to implement it numerically for the many commitments, unlike the others who were in Europe and did the competitions, we can’t take it for granted, we’re creating a situation with thoughtful choices for a solid structure that will last over time and not built on stilts”.

About the preparation in view of the many competitions.

“It doesn’t change much, you prepare the season, it’s clear that the year changes because we won’t have a week and precise days to dedicate to physical and tactical work, but we’ll have less time and when you have many competitions you have to take advantage of the moment, even a moment after the game, try to give something to those who play less, you have to manage to train everyone and the strength of last year was this and those who entered were doing well, merit to all the players used less and who were in perfect shape, training at their best despite the reduced space. We’ll have to take advantage of any type of space to train the whole squad, next year there will be more space for everyone so we’ll have to raise the quality and not have differences between the players”.

Lucca is only an alternative to Lukaku or can the two coexist? How are Buongiorno and Gilmour doing?

“When you have many competitions, you can’t make the starter and the non-starter, otherwise, it’s provincialism, this is doing the 4 competitions, one plays, the next one goes to the bench and enters in the last 20′. We are constructive otherwise we don’t understand the depth we want to give to Napoli”.

Napoli with the best defense, is there a point to improve?

“We started from scratch last year, today we start with an important base and we’ll try to improve it. I’ve already shown some videos to the guys of what we did last year thanks to their application and dedication. With a year of work more, I don’t start from scratch, and this is very important for everyone. At the same time, we have to introduce the new players into these mechanisms. Defensively we were good, we’ll have to improve in trying to score more goals because many times we weren’t so effective for what we created but there’s always room for improvement, even the best thing we did”.

Criticisms for the results achieved in the Champions League?

“It will be stimulating to return to the Champions League, if it’s aimed at me, I’ll ask you a question, do you know how many times I’ve participated in Europe since I’ve been coaching? I’ve done 6 years in Europe, two with Juventus, one with Tottenham, one with Chelsea, and two with Inter, taking teams in reconstruction, which didn’t make the cups. I’m always asked for miracles, but some facts can’t be overlooked, in the Champions League you can’t invent victories, of course, I have to have patience and stay in a club for many years, but I’ve left structures that have also achieved satisfaction. If I had to find a flaw on my part, it’s not having been able to stay in a club for many years, I would have had many participations, not just 6 which are really few, then if you ask me for victory with Man City which in 10 years with the best coach has won only 1, PSG won last year with those players, before saying certain things it’s better to check, then I’m the first to be stimulated but our parameters, of all the Italians, is an uneven fight. I also look at the market of the others, it’s a matter of 60-70-100 million, we know who we are, we’re proud of who we are, but we also know our limits, and the revenue we have even in terms of ticket sales, TV rights, are a quarter of these teams that have different possibilities. Sitting in pole position means going into those situations… we have to be proud and give our best, causing trouble like last year, in all competitions. We’ll be armed, it must be clear to everyone”.

About the improvements made to the structures in Dimaro.

“Compared to last year, we certainly found a more equipped structure, first of all the field, I pushed a lot on the field because last year it wasn’t a field for a team like Napoli. Now we’ve worked together and I found the field and also the one behind which was done in excellent conditions. Also, the gym, so compliments to those who improved the structure. We also deserved it”.

De Bruyne makes us think about the module, how will he fit in with McTominay, Anguissa, and Lobotka? Will something change?

“If you look at how he played with City, he’s an internal midfielder, he can then become a trequartista, he’s a player with precise characteristics, great quality, when he gets the ball he sees things that many others don’t see. We have four competitions, we don’t start saying this is the starter, this is the reserve, otherwise, it’s provincialism, this is doing the 4 competitions, one plays, the next one goes to the bench and enters in the last 20′. We are constructive otherwise we don’t understand the depth we want to give to Napoli”.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.