The coach after the success against Qarabag: “We have many players out, I have to be good at transmitting energy. For Sunday we hope to recover Spinazzola”
Winning in the Champions League too, to dispel those clouds that had formed after the defeat in Bologna. Antonio Conte is more serene, but does not want to indulge in relaxation. “We’ll enjoy it tomorrow, then we’ll put the helmet back on because we have Roma on Sunday.” The message is clear, at the end of a special evening, as the coach defined it after the success against Qarabag, to mark the anniversary of the death of Diego Armando Maradona. “He represented and represents something that is difficult to explain if you are not Neapolitan. We wanted to honor this day, which in any case is a sad day because it is the fifth anniversary of his death. There was a good energy, which we absorbed and then proposed.”
The tests against the Azerbaijanis and before that against Atalanta were convincing. So it’s fair to ask what happened in the locker room. Conte clarified some aspects. “Napoli was not dead, it’s not a question of being alive or not alive, but of continuing to work, always giving everything we have. Then the games can be won or not, but we know that we must always give everything. It is a moment of great difficulty for the availability of the players, we had seven players on the bench including two goalkeepers and two young players like Ambrosino and Vergara. We have been facing a very difficult period since the beginning of the year, we must start from the assumption that the players go on the pitch. If we don’t have any, we need to find different solutions, almost always trying to exploit the same ones because then the risks increase. We are moving forward, we have played two excellent matches. Let’s not forget the results of Qarabag, in the Champions League there are no easy opponents, I was convinced that by bringing these rhythms we would have managed the challenge.”
energy to transmit
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The coach returned to the concept of energy that he had underlined after the Dall’Ara match. “It’s too important, I have to be the first to have it because I have to pass it on. In Bologna I took on some responsibility because I probably wasn’t transferring what I wanted and therefore it was my fault. I have to be good, the boys have to release energy and be a team, help each other, really want to suffer and then rejoice all together for a single objective. We have always done it and we will continue to do it. Many times we also judge based on the results of the matches, I think since the beginning of the year we have been chasing having still had many unavailability. I can control some situations, but I can’t manage the sprain that Gutierrez got yesterday during training. It’s unfortunate, because then we immediately talk about a crisis without actually seeing what we’re facing.” However, the attitude radically changed and the difficulties ended up uniting the group. “The boys are exceptional, in terms of availability everyone’s responsibility has increased exponentially, because there will be many matches that we have to face without being at full strength. We hope to have Spinazzola with us on Thursday, so we would have another option in place of the Spaniard” he concluded.
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