CorSport: Conte’s turnaround in three days, Napoli still winning | OneFootball

CorSport – Conte goes from hell to heaven in three days! Napoli still knows how to win

And so, in the span of three days, from hell to heaven without passing through purgatory: first sweeping aside Atalanta, then landing a blow on Qarabag, with Napoli and Conte put in the stocks for those seven days of crisis shouted about all over Italy, but also in the city itself. Team and coach have picked themselves up, and here we are—men of little faith and critics of questionable faith—we still know how to win and even play well. I go crazy with the not-so-cheerful wives of Windsor who, from the Alps to Agrigento, gossiped and said it all: Conte is leaving, Conte must resign, sack Conte, and other invectives. In the mainstream media, newspapers and TV platforms, there’s a sensational backtrack, swallowing their insinuations and fake scoops. Voilà, now Conte is a strategist, Conte invents the 4-3-3 against Atalanta, brings out the 4-4-2 against Qarabag and, in the aforementioned three days, brings home two clear victories, six goals, joy, and a farewell to the ignorant fairies. This is football. Woe to those who act like know-it-alls. But there was also an obvious plot against a coach who speaks too loudly and clearly, and against a team that’s better kept on the sidelines. This team and this club, Napoli, with healthy finances, a well-targeted transfer market, renewed and always competitive lineups, are a thorn in the side of the big football machine that’s billions in debt and has missed two World Cups. But there’s always the polemical escape route to save the hasty crisis verdict. And so come the colorful patches: Conte has finally noticed Neres and Lang, Conte has finally changed, Conte has switched to a three-man defense. As if all this could be enough. Beyond the tactics and the timely relaunch of those players who had played little, there was confirmation that coach and team are united and that Conte continues to transmit his energy, and the team picks it up as soon as, little by little, physical condition and enthusiasm return. Nothing was broken in Napoli’s locker room. That spirit, which was being lost, of the fourth Scudetto, has simply been restored. Let’s go play with our helmets on. Conte likes impactful phrases. He, as a player, was a warrior. Before, there weren’t the right conditions to move to a more attacking team. It’s the training sessions that suggest to Conte which players to field, the ones in the best shape, without favorites or scapegoats. Conte is a loyal and honest man. He intervenes and speaks without hiding. Better a harsh truth than a merciful lie. In his own way, with those phrases invented from his particular jargon, Conte gave the jolt to resume a path that Eindhoven and Bologna had abruptly interrupted. And here are the adjustments to stay afloat, to improve—not only Neres and Lang finally ready, but also the new position of Di Lorenzo as right midfielder, able to join the attack without leaving the defense exposed, as could happen when the captain played as a full-back. Here’s the old guard urged to honor the Scudetto on their shirts. And if Mcfratm returns to be explosive and decisive, then everything works despite the string of injuries that deprived the team of a superstar like De Bruyne, a “tactical” player like Lukaku, and other Azzurri who would sometimes break the right chain and sometimes the left. Calm. Of course, we await confirmation. But Napoli has not disappeared from the scene and Conte is not the coach who breaks down because of his obsession with victory. And De Laurentiis, in his new role as a true president, supports the coach and team, sends tweets of appreciation and calm, writes with grace the truth of the moment, and exalts the group with great lightness. Well done to everyone except, of course, those who had prepared a grand funeral for Napoli.

Carlo Gioia

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