The Italian coach: “The money must be spent but not wasted: two years ago there was a 100 million market but they all went on loan. If someone arrives, welcome, otherwise we’ll get over it knowing that this squad needs to be strengthened”
Here it is “La Partita”, an hour and a half with a life inside, or rather two. And there’s no need to pretend nothing happened, it wouldn’t be Antonio Conte, because this time the emotions overlap. “I arrived in Turin in ’91, 14 years have passed since I started on the bench, in total I spent 16 years with Juventus and therefore…”. And so there is a current Antonio Conte who must obviously be different from the one who sat on Madame’s bench in 2011: but which is the best? “I obviously always try to be better than in the past, we have a duty to grow, now I feel like a much more complete, evolved person. We need to update ourselves to be protagonists and not feel satisfied.” And we need a Napoli close to perfection to avoid this Juventus that never loses (in the championship), which represents history. “Because if you are Inter, Milan and Juventus you have to win.” And if you are Napoli, and you can win or want to try in the first year of the new cycle, and you come up against the Old Lady, zero defeats but thirteen points behind… “Let’s start from an assumption: a certain gap has been created between us but they must also add the difference from last year, that -18 in the standings which has an impact. I would add, however, that no team is unbeatable, defeat is part of the nature of football, sooner or later it happens.”
between field and market
—
And sooner or later something will also have to happen to the market, which for now is stuck in Scuffet, Billing and Hasa, with Kvara already at the Parc des Princes. “We have started a journey and we hope it will last a long time. But there are still things missing, we still need other important steps. It is inevitable that every transfer window can help. If it isn’t now, we will do it in June. We have been good and lucky this summer. But two years ago they spent 100 million and they all left on loan. It’s important to spend the money, but there’s an opportunity to improve, it’s up to the club to decide this group of guys and I’m happy: I can go to war with them. Then if someone arrives, so be it, otherwise we will deal with it and continue working knowing that this squad must be strengthened significantly in the future. If we return to Europe, we are few in number.”
megaphone
—
But the iconic image remains Conte in Capodichino returning to Bergamo, even if that is another story. “I think it’s right to clarify. I was given a megaphone, I certainly didn’t have it in my suitcase. It wasn’t mine. I was on the bus, it was passed to me and asked to say a few words. It was the least I could do to respond to the affection of the people. We would probably still be in Capodichino if I hadn’t said something. These are situations that make you understand where you are and what passion there is. These are things that you will always carry forward return. I thank you on my behalf and of the footballers that people sacrificed their time to greet us. And anyway…”. And anyway, there is Napoli-Juventus, “La Partita”. “But I honestly felt that even the matches against Atalanta or Verona are not normal. Here football is lived with exciting passion. Juventus are a tough nut to crack and you have to keep that in mind. A tough team, with a history.” His too.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED