Sent to Castel Volturno
Conte he doesn’t trust compliments: «You only win by being hungry», he repeats to the team who listens to him in silence. But for tonight, with the Monzahe should do like Ulysses and cover the ears of his crew as they sail towards the match in which Napoli are the overwhelming favorites. 80 days have passed since the beginning of his adventure, in Dimaro. The days of the footballers were numbered but they were the first stones of the building that was being built. He, Conte, has remained the same, identical: whether he coaches the Primavera kids, the jewels of the August campaign, he always speaks in the same way, with the same determination to the team.
Well, Conte shudders just at the idea that some of his people might think that with Monza it’s a pure formality. And he said it several times in these 48 hours, even raising the level of the pace of training, keeping the team working on the eve of the training more than other times. Too many sirens singing reassuringly, causing people to lower their guard, taking into account that Monza has not yet won in this championship. To defuse the evening’s dangers, he decided to rely on the same team that returned undefeated Torinowith the same game system. Even if he knows that giving minutes and morale to those who play less means equipping himself against the unexpected events of the future.
The climb
He doesn’t seek beauty as an end in itself, he seeks victory. The old soldiers of Spalletti I’m behind him now. And it is precisely in the presence of Lucianone, who returns to Maradona after his appearance with Frosinone, that it will be necessary to show what level the reconstruction is at. When Spalletti appears on the horizon you can’t help but feel nostalgic. But now there is Conte, the only one in the world capable of sending away in a few weeks the little spirit that hovered over Castel Volturno for a year. His loyalists have finally questioned themselves and reopened their ambitions. Conte has the talent of leaders, he knows how to make himself listened to. He conquered Naples, he took its soul. He was a former enemy in black and white stripes, now he is the leader of the recovery. Plagiarized by Conte’s workaholicism who in 80 days consolidated a game logic that the comings and goings of post-Lucianone coaches prevented from realizing. Conte doesn’t trust Monza: matches with “the small ones” are too often a trap and torment: he is patiently retying the threads that hook the Napoli to its glorious past. Well, beating Monza too would mean definitively consecrating one’s candidacy for the title.
The game plan
So, after the launch with Juventus, here is the 4-man defense again and the confirmation of McTominay as a tactical variable: he plays behind Lukaku, but also as an added man in the midfield. And if necessary, raise the wall. The 4-2 and… fantasy, one might say: it was what Conte wanted and De Laurentiis obeyed. Don Antonio has plan B ready in case the Monza bunker were to resist: Neres and Raspadori are there, but also Gilmourwhich can allow for a number of alternative tactical solutions. The double play, the metamorphosis into a 4-4-2 or even a 4-3-3. Today it is important for the coach from Lecce to demonstrate that he can handle the weight of an evening as favourites. But he is wise and knows it. And he also knows that he will also have to raise his level of play, relying on his best creative quality (Kvaratkhelia, Politano, McTominay) because he certainly cannot repeat the attitude he had against Juventus nor, in front of 50 thousand spectators, cause trepidation as in the second half in Cagliari. Not a crossroads but a race that serves to understand where Conte’s project is at. Wiping away the nostalgia for Spalletti. And with a look at Turin playing Lazio: if the Granata don’t win, but the Azzurri win, Napoli returns to the top.
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