Napoli, Conte: Crunch time, patience needed amid big expectations | OneFootball

“It will be the most complex year. My experience tells me so. Many new guys have arrived in an important place like Naples, especially after the Scudetto. Expectations are high for everyone.

Napoli, Conte: “The moment of truth. We need to be patient, even though expectations are enormous”

After the victories against Sassuolo and Cagliari, Napoli resumes with a delicate away match against Fiorentina. The Azzurri’s objective is clear: to maintain consistency in results even after the break and keep a perfect score in the league. It’s a tricky challenge, against a Viola side still searching for their first win of the season after draws with Cagliari and Torino.

On the eve of the match, Antonio Conte spoke at a press conference, addressing various topics: from managing the squad with the Champions League in mind, to injuries, and the integration path for the new signings.

“The moment of truth begins”

Conte emphasized how the season is now entering its crucial phase: “It’s the moment of truth. We’ll start playing every three days and it will be a complex season. In the first two matches we relied more on certainties, now we have to integrate the new arrivals. We’ll need patience if there are mistakes, because they come with great expectations placed on them. We’ll have to be tolerant in our judgments.”

The weight of the Scudetto

The coach also spoke about the difficulties that come with being reigning champions: “This will be the most complex year by far. The Scudetto inevitably brings expectations, even if it came in an unexpected way. I have to improve the new players as quickly as possible. We’re at the second step of the project, but the fact that we already have the Scudetto badge on our chest changes everyone’s perspective.”

Absences and substitutes

Conte commented on the injury situation: “Rrahmani is a significant absence, he’s one of the pillars of the team. Playing every three days increases the risk of injuries. That’s why we prepared in the transfer market: there’s a need to play the new guys, who have to understand the new reality and give us a hand.”

Focus on individuals

The Azzurri coach gave an update on some players:

On Elmas and Hojlund: “They were also with their national teams, I saw them in good shape. They’re ready, and we need them right away.”

On Buongiorno: “He had surgery this summer, recovered, and worked well these past two weeks. He’s ready, he just needs game time.”

Managing the goalkeepers

Finally, Conte addressed the topic of the competition between Meret and Milinkovic-Savic: “They’re both excellent goalkeepers. Meret is a guarantee, the keeper of the two Scudetti. Milinkovic-Savic comes from a different background and is working to integrate. We’ll find time and ways to give him space, we brought him in because he has different characteristics from Meret.”

What threat does the match against Fiorentina hold?

“The threat is Fiorentina itself: it’s a club that has reached two European finals in recent years. They had an excellent transfer window. I consider them among the 7-8 teams that will be fighting to cause trouble.” How is Anguissa? Does he have a replacement in this squad?

“You know we had to compensate for Lukaku’s injury by doing something different, so some strategies have been revised. Elmas is very versatile and was brought in for this reason as well. Anguissa played on Tuesday and only returned yesterday, now he’s available and doing well.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.