There is only one person leading, his shirt is blue, his name is Antonio Conte. Never fragile, now definitely the strongest. The smallest problem, or rather the first certainty. Let’s start again with him. And with him. And from Conte who considers his presence unnecessary De Laurentiis at Castel Volturno. He wanted, as always, to do everything himself. Good or bad. Wait for the return of the national team to break the silence and face Napoli’s woes once again. Those who believe they have lost after 2-6 against PSV Eindhoven. He changed his strategy: in the post-Dutch days, he went head-to-head with both the old and new guards, with talks and even personal reminders. Now, after three days of an unusual and dangerous absence, he has chosen to keep a low profile.
Of course, he predicts that on Saturday, the superficial behavior, responsibility, personalism and indifference that characterized the last few weeks and that angered him after the match against Bologna, leading to fears of his resignation, will be reversed. Now it’s different: short of head down and pedaling. And the owner has surrendered and given his willingness to make whatever intervention Conte deems necessary to get out of a moment that no one at Napoli wants to call a crisis. Also because it’s overkill. But strong in a steel agreement that runs from summer 2024once again De Laurentiis will not make surprise attacks, he will not take isolated initiatives, he will not carry out pitch invasions such as consulting a footballer on the phone to find out how he is doing. In contrast to when Rudi Garcia was there. A treaty of steel. Who refused. And that’s causing optimism to return to Castel Volturno. Of course, looking at Conte’s face, the atmosphere was already like the days of battle. Yesterday, for example, before the week of truth, with Atalanta, Qarabaq and Roma, he started trying tactical actions. And on his side, his praetorians were Stellini and several others.
AGREEMENT
Tension manager extraordinaire Conte offered the best of himself amidst the storm. There is no rift between him and De Laurentiis. The coach has very broad shoulders, but the president’s words of (private) total confidence in recent days must have made him happy. But Conte’s ego is capable of anything, even surprises: therefore, you should always be careful, because a lot of developments also depend on the results of the next week. Perhaps more than anything its performance. What is certain is that De Laurentiis didn’t even think for a moment about sending Conte off (just thinking about it is crazy) so now all he has to do is focus on this impressive run of problems and get back to winning, in the league and in the Champions League.
At Castel Volturno he appeared as concentrated as ever, sometimes angry, because the nervous exhaustion of the last few days was palpable, and within that exhaustion there was an accumulation of tension, anger, various types of pressure guaranteed by the Napoli bench: expectations were high, but he knew that the president had two goals, all within his reach, namely to reach the Champions League playoffs and finish in the top four of the championship. Conte expects a reaction from the team, regardless of who will appear on the pitch. He should try two formations which, barring further unforeseen events, will revolve around a confirmed 4-3-3. There was no time to return to the original 3-5-2. So, forward with the trident: on the left Neres is clearly preferable to Lang as well as Elmas. The reason is, the former Leipzig player is now needed in midfield, he is destined to replace Anguissa. During Gilmour’s absence, the dual director option had to be ruled out. So the simplest solution, also due to lack of time to try, is to stick with the same game system as currently. What is rejected is the way the team plays, certainly not its scheme: Spinazzola will not be risked early on with Atalanta, but he will most likely be ready for the Champions League clash against Qarabaq, one that must be won at all costs to avoid a final rush into the playoffs with bated breath. Had to do hard labor, McTominay and Lobotka. Clearly very necessary in this period. But the injury situation is not very happy: Gilmour put the brakes on while Lukaku could already be called up for the match against Roma on November 30. And when Big Rom is in place, we will switch to 3-5-2.
