Paolo Vanoli and his Toro know that they are clearly underdogs in the match against Napoli, yet the Granata have one more weapon. The coach knows all Antonio Conte’s secrets, on the other hand until a few years ago they worked together, one alongside the other. First at Chelsea, then at Inter, Vanoli was the technical collaborator of the coach who is making the Neapolitans great again after a year that ended even behind Toro. Now the points of difference are already 14 in thirteen days, the former Venezia will try to surprise the Salento player with the teachings he received from his “mentor”. “I will thank him forever, I learned a lot from him and I brought all this baggage to my experience at Spartak Moscow” he told the Cronache di Spogliatoio page some time ago.
Yes, because it wasn’t that simple to part ways: “It was a difficult and painful decision, the coincidence was that while he was signing for Tottenham I received the call from Russia” is the other background revealed by Vanoli. And on the working relationship with Conte: “A collaborator must always say what he thinks, it’s not easy due to questions of character but I have always said ‘I can never be Antonio’s deputy’ because he needs another character as deputy – said the “old” Vanoli – but I have always told myself that I am a perfect collaborator, because even in a staff there are different alchemies: my best quality is that I can’t help but say things to their faces”. Now the fifty-two year old from Varese has learned to walk on his own, after Spartak and Venice the call from Toro arrived last summer. “It’s the most important challenge of my career, until the end I will try to bring better results together with my players” said Vanoli before facing Monza. Only a draw arrived, not enough to strengthen a position that is becoming precarious after having collected four points in the last two months: so the match against Conte becomes fundamental for him too.