Without a broadcaster since the first day, Serie A saw the L'Équipe channel put an end to the charade this Tuesday, by granting itself the two best posters of the weekend. And it’s a safe bet that we will see Napoli very often among the two matches broadcast. Because yes, the winner of the 2023 Scudetto is leading the championship when no one expected him to be at this height. A nice surprise that has a name, that of Antonio Conte. At the club since June, the bundle of nerves has rebuilt a project abandoned last season (10e of Serie A). However, the former Juventus coach warned: « Naples will suffer this season. We need a total reconstruction. » It was in August, and according to the results, the project went faster than expected.
Reinforcements in tune
To make Rudi Garcia forget, President De Laurentiis lets his heart speak by appointing the former Juve manager, long desired at the foot of Vesuvius. The person concerned accepts the position with conditions: an annual salary of eight million euros, no manager is authorized to attend training… And above all, considerable control over transfers. So, to compensate for the departure of past season executives Piotr Zieliński and Victor Osimhen, Conte calls on Romelu Lukaku, who is definitely exemplary when he is under the direction of the Italian. A notch lower, the Scottish doublet McTominay-Gilmour perfectly compensates for the needs of their coach. Without forgetting the role of libero Alessandro Buongiorno, stolen from Torino for 35 million euros, whose thickness makes him the current boss of a defense that has long been adrift.
We have to admit that for now, what we are doing after ten days is something unexpected.
Gone are the health walks and stunning victories of the days of Luciano Spalletti. Make way for pure pragmatism, faithful to the man's precepts, without embellishments or flashes. “What I can promise is seriousness, a word that is often underestimated”he repeated in preseason. However, seriousness will be lacking from the first day. On the pitch of Hellas Verona, the Azzurri take a volley (3-0), despite a clear domination. “Anyone who knows me knows my heart bleeds today, and I hope the players do too », Conte said during that same evening. We are therefore far from imagining that this cagade will be a starting point. Since this defeat, Naples has not lost in the league. Better yet, he connects the clean sheets (eight in ten games) and regains offensive performance.
Italian realism
In addition to the recruits, Conte also managed to bring players who were only ghosts of themselves last season back on track, like the rebirth of Kvaratskhelia or Di Lorenzo, revived after his Euro failed. Less spectacular, more compact, Naples plays the transitions hard. Even if it means leaving the ball to your opponent. All nested around a single watchword: adaptation. Since the draw against Motta's Juventus (0-0), Conte has sacrificed his traditional 3-4-3 to go back to four defenders. For their part, the players get involved without flinching, even if it means changing positions to maintain balance. « Nobody plays hide and seek, especially not me, concedes the manager after the victory against Milan at San Siro (0-2). Mais we have to admit that for the moment, what we are doing after ten days is something unexpected. »
This would be true if Conte were not a specialist in the subject. From the hegemony of Juventus to the title of Inter in 2021, including a Premier League won with Chelsea, he set about building locomotives on a field of ruin. Certainly, the absence of a European Cup makes heads and legs lighter. Just like the calendar, where the Neapolitans have only met two big ones not yet established: Juventus and AC Milan. Besides, this is good, since the road is finally rising. They challenge Atalanta on Sunday at noon, then Inter a week later, respectively second and third in Serie A.
Naples beats AC Milan
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