Napoli, Conte 'a lonely man': support only comes with victory… | OneFootball

Antonio Conte is not just a football coach: he is a builder of mentality. And yet, in Naples, even he seems to clash with an age-old paradox. As Massimiliano Gallo wrote in the Corriere dello Sport, “Conte must resign himself, in Naples he is a lonely man.”

Napoli, Conte “is a lonely man.” The environment supports him only in victory…

The Azzurri coach leads the team to the top of Serie A, but finds himself surrounded by an environment that, instead of exalting him, tends to consume its own energy in constant criticism. His outburst in the press conference sums it up perfectly: “We’re top of the table and all we hear is criticism. We’ve faced absurd difficulties from the start, yet people always look for the glass half empty.”

The Neapolitan short circuit

Conte defends himself from the media, but the issue runs deeper: the media in turn reflect the opinions of a fanbase that lives in a state of permanent dissatisfaction. In Naples, the culture of victory has never become normal, and every success is accompanied by suspicion, by a “yes, but…”.

This is a dynamic that doesn’t concern only football: it’s a cultural trait, a form of systemic self-criticism that becomes self-destructive. Injuries, for example, are treated as scandals. “Only in Naples does this happen,” people say. Yet, Barcelona had fifteen muscle injuries in two months, and no one put Flick on trial.

This background noise has turned into a constant psychological burden, even for someone like Conte, who has built entire careers on the idea of unity and sacrifice.

The legacy of Sarrismo and the nostalgia for beauty

“It was so nice being in second place,” writes Gallo, “with the critics’ prize and always complaining about the referees.” It’s a phrase that perfectly sums up the aesthetic nostalgia that hovers over the city. “Sarrismo” left behind a taste for beauty without cynicism, for possession football as a form of art rather than effectiveness. Since then, winning has never been enough: it must be done “well,” “entertaining,” “dominating.” And if you don’t dominate, you suffer too much.

But Conte is not Sarri. And Napoli, today, is a modern club, solid, and mature as a business. It is everything the fanbase has never become: rational, strategic, sustainable.

Napoli has grown, the fanbase has not

Today Napoli is probably the most organized club in Italy: stable ownership, growing revenues, a top-tier coach, and a talented squad. Yet, the “entorno”—as they would say in Spain—remains that of a city that always feels one step away from betrayal. It’s not a problem of passion, but of sports education: victory is not perceived as a process, but as an immediate right.

In Italy, this is a common problem. There still isn’t a true sports culture, made up of long-term thinking, trust in the project, acceptance of mistakes. Even Sinner, in tennis, has been overwhelmed by the logic of “everything, right now.” Let alone Conte, in an environment that demands victory and to do so in a style that pleases the public.

The paradox of the journey

Conte is a man used to building walls and fighting battles. But in Naples he finds himself fighting even against his own people. “The journey doesn’t interest anyone,” observes Gallo. And perhaps this is the deepest cultural limitation: the lack of interest in growth, the obsession with immediate results.

Lukaku, for example, was met with skepticism, despite his tactical importance. Few understand how much De Bruyne’s absence weighs, how complex it is to integrate nine new players, or how lonely the media battle Conte fights every week is.

Naples is stressful, some say. But in reality, it’s Italy that stresses its own protagonists.

The lesson of Velasco

“If Julio Velasco had coached football, he would have ended up like Luis Enrique in Rome.” It’s a perfect comparison. In Italy we love teachers as long as they remain within the boundaries of theory. As soon as they step onto the field, we demand that they win immediately, without mistakes, without patience.

Velasco became a symbol because he taught sport elsewhere, where people listen. In Italian football, he probably would have been overwhelmed by the impatience of those who cannot conceive of defeat as a stage, but only as a fault.

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