Conte: From “heart transplant” to courage, Napoli’s month of change | OneFootball

There is an abyss separating November 9th from December 7th. It’s not just a matter of the calendar or results, from the defeat against Bologna to the triumph over Juventus, but rather the vast distance between two diametrically opposed, yet perfectly complementary, versions of Antonio Conte. Rereading the words of the Azzurri coach less than a month apart, the strategy of “the stick and the carrot” emerges with surgical precision. Conte hasn’t changed; he has simply changed the medicine for his patient.

Blows in Bologna, caresses after Juventus: Conte’s emotional strategy

Going back to that night at the Dall’Ara: Napoli lost 2-0, appearing drained. On that occasion, Conte chose the path of emotional shock. He didn’t look for excuses; on the contrary, he destroyed certainties. He used a brutal metaphor, that of a “heart transplant,” to plant the most harrowing doubt in an athlete: the lack of character. “If there is heart,” he said at the time, implying that perhaps that heart wasn’t beating as it should. At that stage, the coach needed to break with the past, with those basking in the glory of a now-lost Scudetto. He took the blame (“Maybe I’m not doing a good job”) to remove any excuse from the players, forcing them to look in the mirror without filters.

Energy, emergency, and psychology: this is how Conte gave Napoli its soul back

Today, after defeating Juventus amid a full-blown injury crisis, the narrative has flipped. The “patient” who needed a transplant has suddenly become a war hero. On DAZN’s microphones, the inquisitor Conte gives way to the protector Conte. “I’m amazed by the energy and enthusiasm,” declared the coach. The key words change drastically: if energy was lacking in Bologna, today that same energy is the engine that allows McTominay to grit his teeth and Elmas to sacrifice himself out of position.

The genius move lies in managing the emergency. A month ago, Bologna’s fatigue, having played in the cup, was an aggravating factor for a lazy Napoli. Today, a full infirmary becomes the tool to exalt the achievement. Conte doesn’t use injuries to complain, but to unite the group in an emotional trench: “We are compact and we want to be united.” In less than thirty days, Antonio Conte has completed his work. First, he demolished the team’s ego to reset their presumptions, and now that he has gotten answers on the pitch, with victories against Atalanta, Roma, and Juve, he has begun to build an impregnable fortress around his boys. A transplant wasn’t needed, evidently. It was only necessary to strike the right chords at the right moment. And in this, in transforming a team from “going through the motions” to “fighting a battle,” Conte confirms himself as a master of the psyche even before tactics.

Andrea Alati

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