The Napoli coach after the Super Cup semi-final: “We deserved to be here, we enjoyed the evening against Milan, who are a great team. We hope to recover Lukaku soon, having him on the bench is already important”
At first he seemed to want to hold back. “There’s little to say to these guys, also because I think repeating the same things over and over again is a bit boring.” Then he couldn’t resist, because his Napoli deserved explicit appreciation. “When you play every three days with just a few players, it’s inevitable that the energy isn’t always at its maximum and that there are some empty jokes as has happened and as will happen in the future, because the situation won’t change in a month’s time. The boys today demonstrated that they want to play a serious game, that they honor the Scudetto on their shirt, that we were here not by invitation but because we deserved it and we enjoyed the evening against Milan, who are a great team. We must always have a lot of energy, it becomes important for us, we do a non-speculative but expensive football. I’m happy, the team wants to play for the trophy and now we have to recover our strength and see who will be the finalist”, explained Antonio Conte at the end of the victory against Milan, which qualified the Azzurri.
energy drops
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The fluctuating performance does not scare the coach who, on the contrary, now takes it into account in the dynamics of the collective. “We are physically well, but when we always accumulate games with the same ones, we lose some energy. We were coming from important matches in championships: Atalanta, Roma, Juventus, the Italian Cup… When we play these types of matches, it is inevitable that in the long run we can pay and it happened to us against Benfica. In Udine we could have done better in the second half. We have reached the point where we have recovered, giving a performance as a team, united and compact. When we achieve all this, regardless of who plays we are competitive. We must continue and try to move forward, also because those who were injured continue to be injured, but at least now the new ones are more involved in the project”. The biggest problem, however, is related to the infirmary. “I always said it would be a complex year, but I didn’t expect it like this after the first five months in terms of injuries.”
Lukaku’s return
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Lukaku’s recovery is imminent, Conte can’t wait to have him available again. Living with Hojlund doesn’t worry him at all. “We hope to get him back soon, for us he is a player who has international experience, with an important career, he has a specific weight in the dressing room. Having him already with us and bringing him to the bench is fundamental. I hope that there are many games to play, so that we can field them alternately or even together. The boys are adapting to different roles, like Elmas who we used everywhere. However, it is the spirit that counts, Politano and Juan Jesus have had important tests, as has Spinazzola himself and his return of Lobotka. You know how much having McTominay next to you matters.” Conte did not comment on the opponent he wanted to face between Bologna and Inter. “They are both strong and competitive, we will see the match and on Monday let the best man win” he concluded.
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