Conte: ‘I promise seriousness in giving everything for Napoli’ | OneFootball

Antonio Conte underlined his ambitions, passion and plan at his Napoli unveiling, noting the need to ‘transfer this desire for revenge onto the pitch’.

After a year of chaos and misery, the Partenopei have decided to start a new project under the former Chelsea and Italy tactician, who signed a three-year contract at the club. Hopes are high in the Campania capital after a post-Scudetto campaign that saw three coaches at the helm.

Conte has already had to battle with some transfer market concerns at Napoli, with Victor Osimhen looking to head off to a new club, Giovanni Di Lorenzo pushing to depart and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia seemingly courting interest from Paris Saint-Germain and more.

Conte presentation at Napoli

Speaking at his Napoli presentation via TMW, Conte first discussed the event and the reception received from the fans.

“This is the first time I’ve been presented in this way, so there’s also a thread of emotion despite several years in football. I thank you.

“I definitely thank Napoli, because usually I give something before receiving it. Here it was the opposite, so much enthusiasm, so much affection. Now all I have to do is give back.”

He was asked if he had a promise to give the Napoli fans.

“What I can promise is seriousness, a word that is often underestimated. Seriousness in giving everything for Napoli, in transmitting my culture at work, my mentality. The transmission of my footballing ideas. The goal of a coach, besides excelling, is to make his fans proud.

“The fans must recognise themselves in their team, our ultimate goal is to make the fans proud of their players, of the football they play. When it comes to a sweaty shirt, you know that in football there is victory and defeat.

“But in defeat there mustn’t be the extenuating circumstance of not having given our best. What I can promise is that we’ll give our best, more than our best because sometimes the best is not enough.”

Conte commented on the strategy to achieve his goals.

“Naples is an important, passionate place. It was and will remain so beyond players, coaches, and ownership. Passion for football and for your team is a great characteristic.

“On our part we’ll try to feed this passion, because it already exists. There is a great fire here, maybe we can make it even higher all together, to try to achieve our goals.”

Conte spoke about what his Napoli team will need to have.

“A p*ssed off face, because we come from a year where many things didn’t go right. We’ll have to transfer this desire for revenge onto the pitch, in all respects, on a footballing and behavioural level. In the market we’ll try to do the best things beyond South America, Asia, Africa etc.”

Conte explained why he decided to take on the Napoli job.

“I chose Napoli for the project, this must be clear. I signed a three-year contract, the president was very clear in what we could do. Because it’ll be based on situations that are compatible with the club.

“The project I talked about with the president is to look for an alternative to the usual Napoli as soon as possible. 14 years Napoli has managed to get into Europe, there has been proper management, a Scudetto has been won. Last year was not a good year.

“It’ll take time and patience, I am of the ‘those who have time don’t wait for time’. We will try in every way to take this responsibility. This is the project. It gave me great enthusiasm, I felt something in my stomach.

“I can’t wait to start. Some interesting offers had arrived from abroad, but there was a promise with the president that we would meet again. When the talks were over, we would decide whether to decide to work together or to continue separately.

“We found the right balance in everything, in the desire, in the ambition. Me, the president and the whole club will try to lay a solid foundation for something important that will last.”

Conte was asked how Aurelio De Laurentiis managed to convince him to take the job.

“You’re talking to a man from the south, I was born in Lecce and I keep my roots. I know what it means to live in the south and what football represents for the south.

“For me this is a return home, as coach of a great representative of the south. It’s a great satisfaction and an honour to return to the south as a coach.”

Conte discussed how long it’ll take to rebuild things at Napoli.

“As I said before, ‘those who have time don’t wait for time’. I’d wait until tomorrow to do battle on all points of view. Then you also have to be realistic: two years ago, we won the Scudetto, but last year we finished 40 points behind the team that won the title.

“Tenth place and out of European competition after 14 years. You shouldn’t think that you change coach and everything will go back to the way it was.

“There is a great project, in my opinion we can’t compete with the usual teams for wages and investments, because we’re talking about other realities.

“But we can compete for work, work culture, sacrifice. When I said ‘Amma faticà’, on this nobody can beat us. On wages and investments there are other realities.

“But with the culture of work, I think we can bridge this gap, I don’t know in what timeframe, but you know that I don’t have a lot of patience to be a supporting player.”

Conte was asked how he’s handled the initial problems with some Napoli players.

“We’re handling them together with the club in the best possible way. I was very clear with the president, before talking about other economic and contractual aspects, I wanted the reassurance that I would decide who would stay and who could perhaps take other paths outside Napoli.

“On this I was very categorical and very clear. If we talk about reconstruction and we talk about giving away players, it’s all nonsense. I found 200% agreement from the president and the club. I spoke to all the guys, I called them all to make our ideas and plans known.

“I also heard what they had to say. But in the end if there are problems, they’ll solve them, because the decision is always mine. The players who are part of the project will be 200% Napoli players, this must be clear to everyone.

“Since there are those who speak of confusion at Napoli. There is no confusion here, there is clarity of ideas. We know what to do and we will do it.”

He spoke about the Osimhen situation, as well as some others who’ve been floated with a departure this summer.

“I’ll just make a final comment on what the president said earlier, underlining a fundamental fact for me. Di Lorenzo is a top player, captain of Napoli, he won the Scudetto and the European Championship.

“I consider him a very decent and important person even in the locker room, the same goes for Kvara, I think that last year frustration also led to situations that weren’t clear. The players know very well that there are difficulties, we are men, and we must roll up our sleeves all together.

“Starting again this year knowing that it must be an opportunity for revenge. As far as Osimhen is concerned, just as I knew very well about the situation of Kvara, Di Lorenzo, Anguissa, Lobotka, on whom I had an absolute veto, I know very well about the Osimhen situation.

“I know that there are agreements with the club, it’s a totally different situation, which I’ll witness. Then if you ask me about the player, he’s a top player, but I can’t get into any discussions about Osimhen because these are previous agreements.”

Conte discussed the goalkeeping situation.

“Meret is our goalkeeper, he enjoys the utmost trust on my part, I’ve already spoken to him. He knows very well what my personal demands are of him, we’re talking about a goalkeeper who has the highest potential.

“He enjoys the highest esteem and trust from my side. At the same time, we have Caprile coming in, who is on an important path, after Bari and Empoli. We are lucky to have two goalkeepers who can be the future of Napoli.”

He spoke about his approach at a new club.

“Chelsea two years prior had won the Premier League, then after sending the coach away they finished tenth and the following year we won the Premier League. I think it was something incredible because there are super powers in the Premier League.

“What I cannot promise is definitely victory, because only one team wins. I can promise that we’ll start on a path where we can be competitive for the win. Then you know that only one wins and that is very difficult.

“I often say it, head down and work, we must speak little, there’s little time to make claims. Let’s do it with facts, not talk. I am the doer, I’m not the type to sell hot air. I’m also not too patient, this unfortunately or fortunately is our strength. We just have to keep quiet this year.”

Conte weighed in on the growth of the city of Naples and the Campania region.

“That Naples is a beautiful and expanding city in all respects, as we read in the newspapers, certainly football is a driving force for the city. The passion that there is at Napoli is beyond everything, it’ll always be there. Naples is sick for football. Sick in a positive sense.

“There’ll always be this passion that’ll involve everyone. In an objective way I think the city must improve on its own. The city and football can improve hand in hand, but they are two separate things, but then there are those who must take responsibility for continuing on their own account.

“We can only indulge this desire, it would be wonderful to see Naples grow economically, and at the same time Napoli fight as they have done in the past to bring joy more often.”

Conte was asked if this was the most intriguing and difficult challenge of his coaching career.

“Definitely a challenge that comes at the right time. I think I’m a coach who has gained experience, which leads me to face this fascinating challenge with great desire. One person asked me: ‘But aren’t you afraid to go and coach Napoli?’ Afraid of what?

“For me it’s a pleasure, knowing the difficulty of the challenge. Those who know me know that no one has ever given me anything. Ever. What I have won, I always won with sweat and sacrifice, it’s what my parents taught me and it’s what I try to pass on to my daughter and my players.

“We have to understand that we have the privilege, the luck and the talent that the Lord has given us, but we also have to know that talent without the will to work, without sometimes the obsession to improve, is nothing.

“I know that this challenge comes at the right time for me as a person, because I really want to enjoy this passion and enthusiasm.

“Because for me the difficult thing will be to change this enthusiasm and this passion, but I’m convinced that I can do it because I will put everything I have into it, as I have done in the past, that is clear.”

Conte looked ahead to the transfer window and the recent hint given by Romelu Lukaku.

“There is certainly a great desire to start the new season. Speaking with the club, when years like last happen, we shouldn’t panic. We need to be cold, analytical, make the right considerations and make the right decisions.

“I think that as a group of players, most of them will be confirmed because I consider them valid players from all points of view, not only technically-tactical but also as men. We will try to do some things, not many.

“But they will have to be targeted so that they can bring us benefits and lead us to strengthen ourselves. This is why when I talked about solid foundations, skills are important, in making the right decisions I also know that perhaps my greatest asset is also being able to improve a player.

“That is my goal and I’ve often succeeded. I know that I can count on a good base here at Napoli. It’s inevitable that there’ll be incoming and outgoing situations that we will try to do in the best possible way, always respecting our parameters. We’ll try to do the right things to become stronger.

“As for Romelu Lukaku, we’re talking about a strong player, as with Osimhen we’re talking about excellent players. There’s no comment to make, you just have to admire them when they play and always hope to have them on your side and never against you.”

Conte discussed which parts of the squad need to be strengthened most.

“The numbers often don’t tell the truth, but they still need to make us reflect. Last year Napoli conceded 48 goals, ended up being the tenth worst defence in the league, and strangely we ended up tenth.

“And the thing that’s a little disconcerting is that we conceded 27 goals at home, playing at the Maradona, the 15th worst defence. In away games we only conceded 21 goals which would be the fifth best defence.

“What we certainly need to do is find a balance, because I’ve had teams that win or qualify for the Champions League with defences that concede a lot of goals, I start from the assumption that in football if you want to have a winning goal there must always be a balance, too much offensive or defensive play doesn’t lead anywhere, you always find the right middle ground, try to balance.

“We have to reflect for a moment and understand, because then when you concede goals it’s not exclusively a question of the defenders and the goalkeeper, just like when you score goals. It’s the whole team working in the defensive and offensive phases.

“By carrying out some analyses, we certainly want to make corrections. There are many names going around… We will try to find the best profile, I repeat, always respecting certain parameters.

“This must be clear. In defence we’ll try to do something both from a tactical point of view and in terms of changing the generation of men, to give more balance and more substance.”

Conte was asked about the idea of playing a three-man backline.

“You’re absolutely right because the past is now the past, isn’t it? But I think that in moments of difficulty every now and then we’ll have to see, two years ago we won the Scudetto and last year we certainly had a year to forget.

“’Scurdammece or the past’. It’s certainly right, but I think we have to carry the pain inside us a little. That pain will help us this year to do that something extra that we need. This is beyond the doubt of the players that are very important.

“We have players with important characteristics, especially from an offensive point of view. I think that the good coach is the one who puts the players in a position to enhance their characteristics. I will never go behind my own idea to distort the players that are there.

“I will always try to find the right idea to enhance the characteristics of our players. From a tactical point of view, I think we will be very flexible, then I want to work with these guys, because I’m talking about players seen on television.

“The bottom line is when I have them in hand, I will truly perceive the characteristics of each individual player. Then I already have an idea of ​​mine, but the desire will always be to score one more goal than the opponent, otherwise we won’t win.”

Conte spoke about how useful it’ll be to work without European competition.

“I start from the assumption that I do the right amount of work. Or are there others who don’t work… If I compare my work with what I was used to doing as a player, I think that in terms of effort we do a third today.

“Football has become a much more of a tool, people use the ball a lot more because they get distracted and don’t think about it and they struggle less. But I think that sometimes you have to feel the fatigue, because in the struggle you learn to know yourself, to handle stress, pressure, difficulty.

“And so, behind the working method there is a philosophy, which I have nevertheless created in my head after 15-20 years of football career, also having the pleasure of being trained from a physical point of view from a Neapolitan, who I like to remember, Gianpiero Ventrone who unfortunately is no longer with us. So, we will work as hard as we can to improve, we will do it without any ifs or buts.”

Conte was asked about the future of Kvaratskhelia.

“He’ll stay. I feel no doubts. I repeat, there is no need to have them. I have been very categorical about this. I wouldn’t even want this refrain to happen again in the future. The president gave this wonderful news.

“Kvaratskhelia is the type of player who there’s are fewer and fewer with these characteristics, which is why it’s not a whim to want to keep Kvara, I consider him a really strong player, like Di Lorenzo.

“Strong in one-on-one situations if he’s on the wing, but also strong when he comes inside anyway, he is also a playmaker, he creates situations not only in terms of his goals but also very important assists.

“I think that if Kvara keeps systematically on the pitch, I think he loses his mental freedom a little, we will do this with him and with the players we have in the squad. We have him, Politano, Ngonge, Lindstrom…

“All players who still have the ability to beat the man one-on-one but at the same time play inside. The tactical idea is very clear, we just have to decide when we want to defend with five players because the teams are perhaps much stronger, or with four and accept numerical superiority. But the way of building up and attacking will be very similar.”

What’s his long-term plan at the club?

“I hope Napoli won’t be seen as a team of transition but as a final destination. A player must come to Napoli knowing that he will fight for something important every year. He must feel involved and responsible. If somebody is not happy, he can spend time with me. I don’t accept and I’ll never accept this. If somebody is not happy, can stay with me and we’ll find something to have fun.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic said Milan never thought about Conte. Was the coach surprised?

“No, absolutely. I respect everyone, but I don’t remember too well what he said. I think he said he sees me as a manager [not a coach]. I consider myself a manager in terms of tactics and training. I want to make my voice heard. Perhaps this could annoy somebody elsewhere.”

Is he happy to coach Michael Folorunsho and Giacomo Raspadori?

“Absolutely, I want to make every player improve. I’ve spoken to Folorunsho and, like Caprile, he has made an important journey. Today, he has a new challenge, and it’s a step he’s ready to make. He has impressive physicality; surely, he is one of those players that I am curious to meet. Raspadori has great technical qualities and I think he has great room for improvement. He can give us a lot. I really want to know them as soon as possible. One thing is to watch players on TV and another thing is to work with them to see their potential and where they can improve.”