New Delhi: Antonio Conte, one of Italy’s most successful yet most controversial managers is back in the dugout after over a year away from the game. He takes charge of another Italian side, one in dire need of a manager like him, the 2023 Serie A champions Napoli. Conte has signed a three-year deal with the club, marking his return to management since leaving Tottenham Hotspurs.
Napoli endured a difficult 2023/24 season defending their crown. Their season was marred by off-the-field antics and conflicts that affected their performance on the field and bringing in three managers to take charge of the side in one season is always a recipe for disaster. After a torrid season where they failed to even put up a fight to defend their title, the Partenopei laboured their way to a 10th-placed finish.
After the high of winning the league in one season and then suddenly finishing 10th in the next season, the management at Napoli realized they needed to get someone in who had experience of being a fixer at clubs across his career. Someone who has gotten clubs out of the muddle numerous times in the past and that need led them to Antonio Conte. Aurelio De Laurentiis had one simple ask from the Italian, ‘Can we fix it?’ ‘Yes, we can’, says Conte.
What Went Wrong for Napoli Last Season?
Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia didn’t have the best season last time around and that was key to Napoli’s downfall in the season. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)
The writing was on the wall for the Naples-based club right after the end of the 2022/23 season as their title-winning manager, Luciano Spalletti, announced his departure from the club and was replaced by an uninspiring choice in Rudi Garcia. Choosing to replace Spalletti with a manager whose only success at club level came in 2011 was a bold choice and one that didn’t work out.
Garcia was unceremoniously sacked in November 2023 after just 16 games in charge leaving the club in fourth and already 10 points behind the leaders. He was replaced by former manager Walter Mazzari, whose return after 10 years ended in just three months with the club languishing in ninth. Mazzari’s replacement was current Slovakia coach and longtime Napoli servant, Francesco Calzona who ended the season for the Partenopei in 10th place.
It wasn’t just the managerial changes that affected the club as the club had a woeful transfer window in hindsight. None of their signings really worked while some of the sales were astonishing and unexpected, such as the ones of Kim-Min-jae and Eljif Elmas. Both players were crucial in Napoli’s title-winning season playing 35 and 36 of the 38 games respectively with Elmas contributing to nine goals from midfield and Min-jae also getting four contributions.
They failed to replace either player well and almost all signings that were made last summer didn’t work out for the club. Brazilian centre-back Natan was brought in to replace Min-jae but only played 14 times in the league. Midfield signings Jesper Lindstrom and Hamad Traore finished the season with zero goal contributions each with the former already on his way out of the club.
Victor Osimhen powered them to the title under Spalletti and his season was surrounded by off-the-field controversy so his output diminished greatly and none of Giovanni Simeone or Gianluca Raspadori proved to be able back-ups to the Nigerian. All these factors combined ensured a disastrous 2023/24 campaign for the Partenopei.
Antonio Conte’s History of Rebuilding Clubs
The Italian manager has a great track record of winning league titles. (Credits: Getty Images)
The Italian manager has made a career out of rebuilding clubs after a poor season the previous year. Conte is a winner and has that winning mentality that he instils in his players wherever he goes. Being an excellent player in his days as a footballer, he was able to make the transition into coaching well enough that he became one of the best managers as well, having been in charge of clubs like Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Tottenham.
He announced himself as a manager with his stint at Juventus where he led the club to a 49-game unbeaten run and won the Serie A with the club in all of his three seasons, starting a run of nine successive Scuddettos that was halted by the man himself, but we’ll get to that later. Before Conte took charge of the Turin club in 2011, they had just finished the previous season in 7th place and were knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the quarter-finals. Within a season, Conte had the team crowned the champions and narrowly lost out in the final of the Coppa Italia.
His next club job mirrors what lies in front of him at Napoli. He joined Chelsea in 2016, who like Napoli were defending champions and finished 10th in the league the season before his arrival. He would then go on to guide Chelsea to the Premier League title and an FA Cup final in his first season in charge, the same result he achieved with Juventus.
Conte’s first season in charge of Inter Milan in 2019 was also one where the club had gone through turmoil the previous season. Inter had an ownership change in 2018 following which manager Luciano Spalletti was sacked after the club finished fourth, a mammoth 21 points behind the champions, Juventus. Conte was brought in to turn the tide and he almost did exactly that in his first season with the club.
The season was one full of near misses for the man as his Inter side missed out on the Serie A title by a single point, narrowly lost to Napoli in the Coppa semi-finals and lost to Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League final. He would guide the club to the scudetto a season later though, as his first Serie A title with Inter ended Juventus’ nine-year winning streak, which was started under Conte’s spell in charge.
Conte’s Plan for Napoli’s Revival
Conte has already made some solid defensive signings. (Credits: Getty Images)
The Italian hard-man came into the club with his plan for Napoli’s revival set in his mind. His first decision as manager of the Partenopei was to stop the exit of star players. Club captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo and star winger Kvicha Kvaratskhelia were both on the verge of leaving the club after a dismal season but Conte ruled their exits out right after stepping in as manager, naming them to be important players for the club and his vision.
Since then Di Lorenzo has confirmed that he won’t be leaving the club and Kvaratskhelia also seems highly likely to stay at the club since no bids are going to be accepted for the player. Moreover, he’s even identified the players he wants to bring into the club and has already gotten the club moving to get the deals done quickly.
The 54-year-old identified his defence as the club’s weak point and addressed that by getting in young, quality defenders like Rafa Marin from Real Madrid and Alessandro Buongiorno from Torino. Both defenders are coming off the back of great seasons and would fit well into Conte’s preferred back-three set-up. He also brought in Leonardo Spinazzola, who’s an excellent left-wing back and works perfectly in Conte’s tactics.
Napoli’s transfer business is far from over right now as they’re still working on several deals. Victor Osimhen is one name who seems set to leave the Diego Maradona Stadium this summer and for the third time in his career, Conte has his eyes on Romelu Lukaku. He wanted the Belgian at Chelsea but was given Alvaro Morata. He wanted him at Inter Milan and got him at the club and the Belgian guided Inter to the Serie A title. Now, he wants Lukaku to replace Osimhen at the club.
While the striker is nowhere close to what he was at Inter, if there is one man who knows how to get the best out of the Belgian, it’s Antonio Conte. In addition to him, the club are also interested in bringing in Billy Gilmour, David Neres and Alexis Saelemaekers to Naples. With Conte at the helm, the rebuilding phase for Napoli has already begun and looking back at Conte’s history, everything seems to be headed in the correct direction for the Partenopei.
Napoli have signed former Juventus and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte on a three-year deal at the club after going through three separate managers last season. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
