“We’ll have to have a pissed off face. because we come from a year in which many things did not go right. We will have to transfer this desire for revenge onto the pitchfrom all points of view, on a footballing and behavioral level”. Thus Napoli coach Antonio Conte during his official presentation at Palazzo Reale.
“Naples is an important, passionate square. It was and will remain so beyond players, coaches and owners. The passion for football and for its team is a great peculiarity of this city. For our part, we will try to fuel this passion, because it is already there. We will try to do things in the best possible way on the market. There is a great fire here, perhaps we can make it grow even higher together, to try to achieve our goals. “, adds Conte.
Conte explains that “it is the first time they have presented me in this way, so there is also a thread of emotion despite several years of career in the world of football. I thank you. I certainly thank Napoli, because usually I give something before receiving Here the opposite happened, so much enthusiasm, so much affection. Now I just have to give back.”
“What I can promise is seriousness, a word that is often underestimated. The seriousness in giving everything for Napoli, in transmitting my culture to work, what my mentality is. Transmitting my football ideas. The goal of a coach, in addition to excelling, is to make his fans proud. The fan must recognize himself in his team, our maximum objective is to make the fan proud of his players.” “You know well that in football there is victory and defeat. But in defeat there must not be the mitigating factor of not having given your best. What I can promise is that we will give our best, more than our best because sometimes the best is not enough”, adds Conte.
Conte then reveals that “I chose Naples for the project, this must be clear. I signed a 3-year contract, the president was very clear in what we can do. The project we talked about with the president is to try to become an alternative to the usual notes as quickly as possible. Napoli managed to return to Europe for 14 years in a row, there was the right management, they won the scudetto. Last year was not a good year. It will take some time and patience, even if I’m of the ‘he who has time, don’t wait for time’ attitude.”
“The Napoli project gave me great enthusiasm, I felt something in my gut -adds Conte-. I can not wait to start. Some interesting proposals had arrived from abroad, but there was a promise with the president that we would see each other again. With the ball still we would have decided whether to decide to work together or each continue on our own path. We found the right fit in everything, in desire, in ambition. I, the president and the whole club will try to lay solid foundations for something important that will last over time
Conte therefore says that he was “very clear with the president, before talking about other economic and contractual aspects, I wanted the reassurance that I would decide who would stay and who could perhaps take other roads outside Naples. I was categorical and very clear on this. If we talk about reconstruction and talk about giving away players it’s all a contradiction. I found 200% agreement from the president and the club. I spoke to all the guys, I called them all to make our ideas and orientations known.” “I also heard what they had to say to me. But in the end if there are problems they solve them, because the decision is always mine. The players who are part of the project will be 200% Napoli players, this must be clear to everyone. Since there are those who speak of confusion in Naples. There is no confusion here, there is clarity of ideas. We know what to do and we will do it”, adds Conte.
De Laurentiis: “Conte brings enthusiasm, let’s reset everything and start again”
Thanking everyone present, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis explained that “this is an important occasion, as it is important every time you reset everything and start over. Every time there is a new coach you start over again with great enthusiasm, trying to erase everything that has happened”. “In September we will celebrate 20 years of our presence in Naples and so we hope… I don’t know if I will live another 20 years, we will try because medicine does incredible things”, added De Laurentiis.
Regarding the situations of Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, De Laurentiis adds that “Di Lorenzo is an extraordinary player and also a man of great level. I can understand that he felt abandoned for a moment but I explained to him that for me it was impossible to abandon a person like him. However, the players are very young people and can be loaded but also unloaded. We hope that the European Championship can restore a certain serenity, there are no problems because we have a contract: we will make him an adjustment proposal contractual and in any case I don’t see any problems for him. Then there can also be those who move incorrectly by contacting players without having been authorized by the club.”