Napoli also falls in Bologna and suffers their fifth defeat of the season. It’s a crisis and Conte says he’s worried and attacks the team, but he should answer some questions
Napoli falls again, the third time in the league and the fifth overall since the start of the season. A worrying pace for a team that last year bowed its head only four times and which entered the post-scudetto tournament strengthened by an important market, more qualitative and deeper in the choices granted to Antonio Conte.
The Italian coach raised his tone after the fall in Bologna. Apparently his was a self-criticism – in short he explained that he had not been good at working with the group up to now – but in reality it seemed like yet another attack on the team. Which, according to Conte, does not play with heart and intensity and in which there are players busy doing their homework and not thinking as a group.
Words that sound like boulders and that once again evoke off-field issues. Conte also explained that he had spoken to the club to warn them, it is not known with what response given that De Laurentiis is faithful to the requirement of silence on technical issues and sporting director Manna had repeated the “we want to annoy and Conte is a winner” thing a couple of hours before the crash.
Naples what’s wrong? Three questions to Antonio Conte
In reality it would be more interesting to have clarifications on the field and technical matters which are primarily the responsibility of the coach. How is it possible that the offensive production disappeared from the match against Inter onwards? Why is part of the summer market (for example, Beukema and Lang) reduced to pop-ups? What was the idea of football signed by Conte himself, who has forcefully repeatedly claimed authorship of all the choices made in the summer?
Because with great honesty it must be said that the serious injuries of Lukaku and De Bruyne explain something but cannot justify everything. And if it is folly to argue that the loss of the former City midfielder was an advantage, it is useful to remember how even with him on the pitch the performances were dishevelled, flat and often rewarded beyond measure by the results.
The stop will certainly be useful to clarify. The feeling is that Napoli are playing as a depressed team in the image and likeness of their coach, who has been busy since July highlighting problems, risks and critical issues, forgetting the enormous potential he had available. The symptoms of the disease were already visible in October. Having discussed calendars, referees, Marotta, imaginary external opponents and so on only had the effect of hiding the dust under the carpet.
