Napoli, Spinazzola: “I can still give a lot. Lukaku? I feel him, he’s a friend. Let’s wait”

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Leonardo Spinazzola has already made his debut with Napoli, yesterday in the first summer friendly against Anaune Val di Non, but he has not yet been presented to the press. That will happen today, directly in the Dimaro-Folgarida retreat. The left winger, who arrived on a free transfer after being released by Roma due to the expiry of his contract, will speak at a conference at 2 pm. On TuttoMercatoWeb.comas usual, the live text.

2.00 pmLeonardo Spinazzola’s press conference begins: “I chose Naples because I am convinced that I can still give a lot. This year we can have fun and we can annoy many teams”.

Mister’s motto ‘Amma faticà’?
“It makes sense considering the first seven days. My teammates’ motivation is high. Conte is really strong in raising the bar every day.”

How much influence did Conte have on the choice?
“We had been meaning to meet for a long time, we’ve been in touch for a long time. After so many years we’re here working together and this certainly had a big impact on my choice, just like the team, which is very strong.”

Have you heard Lukaku?

“Yes, we often talk, even during the European Championships, he was a teammate of mine, he’s a friend of mine, we have a great relationship. But we haven’t talked about Naples. Let’s wait…”.

What is the Conte effect?
“The coach pushes us beyond every limit, even a banal tactic becomes a mental and physical race. He has concepts that are very valid. If you listen to his words and his ideas, they are great concepts.”

Career injuries?
“It’s not true that I play few games, I had an incredible accident but in the previous two years I had played 78 games, but it seems like I play ten a year. That’s fine. I don’t have to relaunch myself, I just have to continue like in the last two years which have been great”.

Will you return to the level of Euro 2021?
“I think Conte will be able to give me a big hand, in a month my form will be much higher than a year ago. I hope to have a great year both for me and for Napoli”.

My strong points?
“My running, my unpredictability. My weak points, on the other hand, are a little bit the defensive phase, but every year I try to improve myself”.

Where can Italian football start again?
“We’ve done great things in Europe too, it’s a shame for the national team but for the clubs in previous years we’ve done good things.”

Impact on the city?
“Very nice. My eldest son immediately got into the reality of Naples, he was already following Maradona in the videos, he wants to know all the best players in history and I told him about Maradona and he immediately asked me for the shirt. My wife and I were impressed by the city, we stayed for two days, it made a great impression on us”.

Can you play right too?
“Conte asks us fifths to also go inside the field and exchange with the number ten, with our wingers to vary our game a lot. I also feel comfortable on the right thanks to my past as a winger, in that position I can do well”.

Comparison with Zambrotta?

“Like me, he was a tall winger who then went on to play full-back. We have different characteristics, but he is my point of reference.”

Differences with training at Roma?
“There is more tactics with Conte, I recognize a game more similar to Gasperini in terms of concepts. In Rome with Mourinho we used the 3-5-2 a lot and not the classic 3-4-3”.