The Napoli president spoke after the victory over Bologna, claiming his place in the club’s history; “Not since Maradona’s time have two trophies been won in a single year.” Then comes the coach’s comment: “We are making a good run, but we are not ready to dominate”
Aurelio De Laurentiis is gloating, and he can afford it, after seeing his Napoli triumph over Bologna in Riyadh and win the third Italian Super Cup in their history. “We have always believed we are strong, then the coaches must find a synthesis with the squad in order to operate at their best. Conte is a master and did not need time to fit into a winning context. I have made very few mistakes in life, both in cinema with actors and directors and with coaches. Some criticize me for having made mistakes for arriving in tenth place, but one day I will tell what really happened that year” said the president at the end of the match.
CLOSING THE CIRCLE
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Did you have any doubts about Conte? – continued De Laurentiis – we lost 2-0 in Bologna in the championship, here we equalized the score with the difference that, as my friend Joey Saputo says, it’s a cup and we won it, I feel sorry for him. However, we are waiting for them in Naples for the game of truth. To the fans I can only say that the other year we only had the championship and the Italian Cup and we were always on a silk thread, this year the same thing happened but we had more players. In bad luck, we were lucky enough to discover the values of the new players and they are remarkable, this fills us with joy. But we must always stay calm because the ambush is around the corner, let’s remain wary and attentive.” So, De Laurentiis claimed his place in history. “We had fun, not since Maradona’s time have two trophies been won in a single year, this in itself is important. To the fans I say: dream and always think in your dreams, Forza Napoli!”.
joy count
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As usual, Antonio Conte prefers that the credit be given above all to the team. “Congratulations especially to the players, who played two impeccable matches. They showed that they cared about us, there was a desire to give our fans this trophy and also have a merry Christmas. We like celebrating it with a trophy on the board and it makes us spend the holidays very peacefully. We come from a championship won and an Italian Super Cup against really strong teams.” The newly won Italian Super Cup recalled that famous speech about the winner, the only one to be remembered. “Whoever wins stays, let’s not forget that two years ago Napoli lost the Super Cup final, but we remember that Inter won it. I told the boys that we’ve had a great journey so far, even beating Milan. In football, it’s who wins that counts, nobody goes to look at who the finalist was, coming from someone who has lost a lot as a player and as a coach, they’ve made me very bad from that point of view. I’m vice-champion of the world, vice-champion of Europe and I’ve lost three finals of the Champions League. So the nastiness increases because you try not to relive that moment, if you don’t put the icing at the end it becomes difficult. I want to congratulate Bologna because they are now a reality of Italian football and a highly competitive opponent.
limits
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The Scudetto and the Super Cup are an indicator of a Napoli in a top position in Italian football. But Conte does not consider him dominant. “I don’t feel like saying it. I would be a liar. Last year we won the championship with a reduced squad, now we have brought in many players, but we are not ready to command. We must try to remain as attached to the Champions League zone as possible, because those four places will be highly coveted. We must know that with humility we can only get satisfaction through work. We are not ready nor are we close to dominating.” The coach then wanted to underline the many wasted chances during a match played very well. “If we look at how many chances we created, we could have been much more effective. We played a great game from every point of view. The first goal is the feat of a champion, the other situations are artfully designed to put the opponents in difficulty with so many players close to the area. Hojlund and McTominay didn’t play for Manchester United, so there must be some reason given the work of me and my staff. I think that our job is to broaden the player’s knowledge and make him stronger. I’m there I put a lot into this and I think that every player I have had at my disposal has always improved both on a technical and tactical level, and also in mentality. We were cynical against a strong team, but it remains a great match and I can only be happy and proud” he concluded.
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