Serie A side Napoli have been expected to part ways with Antonio Conte in recent days. But the manager has now clarified his position, confirmation his decision.
The Partenopei played out a 1-0 win over Udinese today, having confirmed a place in the Champions League spots last week after a triumph over Pisa.
Conte spoke at the press conference after the tie against the Friulians and he was vocal about the decision about leaving Napoli.
He said โ via SportItalia: โAfter the defeat in Bologna, I felt there were situations I didnโt like, and even then, it takes guts to speak out. Iโve never played in anonymous leagues, and I never will. I was even ready to step aside.
โCertainly, some signings didnโt resonate with the old group, and some very difficult dynamics had developed that were right to be denounced. I was fortunate to meet a group with whom we spoke clearly, we made things clear, and we told each other that we had to row in the same boat against the wind, and then we started again.โ
The Italian was also involved in a confrontation with CEO Aurelio de Laurentiis and this became a reflection of the issues that have developed between the two.
De Laurentiisย , speaking about the race for the title, tried to defend the teamโs work: โย Without the injuries, you would have easily won the championship .โย Conteโs immediate response, however, wasย : โย Absolutely notย .โ
The Napoli president insisted: โย Why not? Iโll tell youย .โ But the coach stuck to his guns, openly acknowledging Interโs merits: โย I completely disagree with you. You have to give Inter credit, theyโre a great team. Last year they reached the Champions League final and this year theyโve even strengthened. And they deserved to winย .โ
At that point,ย De Laurentiisย tried to relaunch the debate: โย Well, Inter is such a great team that in Europe theyโve done less than last yearย .โ Even in this case,ย Conteย didnโt back down: โย Theyโve done more than us. Theyโve taken a step further than usย .โ
The exchange concluded with the coachโs clear stance: โย Iโm sorry, but I donโt like clinging to these things. We need to acknowledge the victories of others and show respect. If we want respect, we have to give it. Inter deserved it, with and without injuries. Maybe without injuries we would have ended up out of the Champions League.โ
This would ideally go down as a rather defining moment in Conteโs Napoli tenure. While he has won the Serie A, it is very much in line with his reputation and the fact that his relationship with De Laurentiis has never been ideal, despite their previous good relationship.
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Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN
