After the bad home defeat against Atalanta, Napoli coach Antonio Conte returned to speak in a press conference two days after the match against Inter, a big match that will close the program of the 12th matchday of Serie A on Sunday evening. we propose the full question and answer again.
What effect does returning to San Siro as league leaders have on you?
“It always has a certain effect where you’ve worked hard, it’s a load of emotions, you go back in time, it’s inevitable to think back to many things, many episodes. Definitely a good effect to return to where I worked. And won? Yes, two happy years. The first one we came second, we lost the EL final, in the second we won the Scudetto. It was a wonderful experience that I carry inside me, like all the past ones that I have lived to the fullest.”
He read ADL’s sentences, they are very similar to his. What effect can it have on the environment? Can it take away something like enthusiasm?
“I haven’t read the president’s words. Whatever he said, a coach must not comment on what his president says, he must listen and move on. There is no need to comment. I saw the president last week, not he told me nothing, if he told you anything different… (the speech is summarized for him, ed.) These are his considerations, I will never comment on the president’s words, he is in charge of everything and it is right to express the his thought. I am below.”
The three points are more important for reigning champions Inter or for rebuilding Napoli.
“They are important, they are always 3 points, it is inevitable that we face a team that today, for everything they have shown, is the strongest team, they have worked very well and today they certainly put themselves in a slightly higher position than everyone else the others deserve credit, they have done a great job from the managers to the coach to the players, they have all grown but it is three points for them and for us, the match will be played and we are not going to San Siro to wave the white flag first. to start, but convinced to play it our cards, then we will see what will happen. We are preparing for it in an important way, as we always do, we are not going there to give up the three points before even playing. It will be an important test, we will compete with the best and it will be important to understand the our progress, don’t forget that we get there from first in the standings, it can mean everything or nothing, and the objective is to remain in the lead at the end of the standings”.
Are you worried about Lukaku’s condition? Below expectations, can you explain the causes?
“At every holy conference there is always the question about Lukaku. It also becomes a little, not annoying, but let’s talk about the team. Lukaku’s growth depends on the growth of the team, the individual is never so decisive as to shift values. The team is at the base, then there are the individuals who must be exalted, the combination must lead us to be strong. If one doesn’t score otherwise we always ask why it’s the team that must grow, but I’m confident because I see them every day, they have desire to work and improve, I see a lot commitment and I wouldn’t reduce it to a single player and it’s also not fair towards the others.”
How is Lobotka? How indispensable is someone like him?
“We all know Lobotka’s value, it is useless to underline it, we must be good at looking for something that can make up for one or more absences. I think Gilmour has done very well in these races, you will never hear me complain about absences. We have a squad, we tried to make a squad as far as possible to make up for some injuries and I have faith in everyone, he has been training since mid-week, we also managed him a little, but he is fine, he has recovered and he is available, we will evaluate whether he can start from the beginning or not.”
How did the team react after the defeat that had been missing since August?
“It was a normal week of work, not only tactically and physically, but also of videos. We analyze them after a victory, let alone after a defeat, there are many things to evaluate, understand, why there was this stumble, how much Atalanta’s strength has affected, how much we can improve on some situations, but we have worked and there is always a great spirit and desire to compete. There is a phase of improvement through training and matches.”
What do you have to do to put Inter in difficulty?
“We have to play the match, then it’s inevitable. If you think about going there to act as a sparring partner and waiting for punches, that’s not our idea. We’ll also compete with our values, we’ll try to play the match and what we’re about. working because I think that this is, beyond the result, the best aspect to continue growing.”
He gave offensive solidity, is the next step an improvement in the offensive proposal?
“Everything needs to be improved, we work on everything. Improving from first in the rankings still means seeking absolute excellence and we continue to work to satisfy all the needs you have.”
6 teams in 4 points, can the challenge be decisive for the race?
“But the race for what? If we talk about six teams you bring up the Scudetto, Champions League, Europa League, even Conference, precisely because they are all in a few points you understand the difficulty of the championship”.
Will he be satisfied after seeing what was missing with Inter that was missing against Atalanta?
“As with Atalanta, on a statistical level it was balanced, I have to analyze it not as a fan, in other matches we were more concrete in exploiting the opportunities, in this match Atalanta exploited them more. With Inter I expect to play it like against Atalanta, perhaps with more quality in the final phase, perhaps with more strength in the duels, we’re working on it.”
Looking to the future, will the reconstruction also continue at corporate levels?
“It’s right to give a stop otherwise we become mono-thematic. What we are doing is a path that involves several steps, we still need to give time to reach these steps, different goals along the way and then compete with the usual ones. These are things that we evaluate with the club, with the president, knowing that it’s not like the sports center or stadium will pop up like mushrooms overnight, but I also realize that there isn’t any patience on your part to wait. I can’t go to the sports centre I’ll start building it at the end of training, it seems simple, but it’s more difficult to achieve it, there’s a lot of discussion, I don’t know between X, 3, 4, 7, but it would be important to start, but I understand that Napoli is impatient.”
Is there a quick marker missing on these quicker attackers?
“We always work as a team on a defensive level, it’s never a single discussion. On one-on-ones it’s important to work as a team, if you isolate one-on-one against a strong player in one-on-one situations you put your player in difficulty and put the opponent in the best conditions. It’s always a team effort to do, if someone is fast if you put him against a big or small one if he’s strong he’ll jump you and you have to limit him by not leaving that situation.”