By Sean Walsh
Antonio Conte has been confirmed as the new head coach of Napoli.
The enigmatic Italian is back in work just over a year after being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur and returns to work in his homeland for the first time since 2021, when he left Inter after winning their first Serie A title in 11 years.
Conte was linked, if only tentatively, with the likes of Bayern Munich, Milan and former club Chelsea, but has now completed a return to management with Napoli.
"Napoli is a place of global importance. I am happy and excited at the idea of sitting on the blue bench. I can certainly promise one thing: I will do my utmost for the growth of the team and the club. My commitment, together with that of my staff, it will be total," Conte said in a statement.
After winning their first Scudetto in 23 years under the guidance of Luciano Spalletti in 2023 before he left for the Italy job, Napoli cycled through three managers the following season and finished a lowly tenth in Serie A.
They have now turned to Conte, who is joining the seventh Italian club of his managerial career, to help revive their fortunes.
Conte will look to rebuild his reputation having left Spurs in March 2023 on a sour note. Following a surprisingly limp Champions League exit at the hands of Milan and staggering 3-3 draw against relegation-bound Southampton, Conte unleashed a furious tirade at his players and Tottenham's owners.
"We are 11 players that go into the pitch. I see selfish players, I see players that don't want to help each other and don't put their heart," Conte said immediately after Spurs' draw at Southampton.
"Before today I prefer to hide this situation and to try to speak, to try to improve the spirit, the situation, with the words, with a lot of situations. Because about tactical or technical aspect, this is one situation. The most important thing if you want to become a strong team, if you want to become competitive, if you want to fight to win, is the desire, the fire that you need to have in your eyes, in your heart, and you have to show this in every moment. In every moment.
"If I have to compare last season and this season, we have to improve, but now we are worse in this aspect. When you are not a team, anything can happen, in any moment. Today is the last situation. Don't forget that in FA Cup we lost to Sheffield United, who played with young players. We were able with a strong team to be dropped from the FA Cup. And then a lot of situations, I repeat, that we are not going to improve. And I am not speaking about tactical aspects or technical aspects.
"About being a team, being a team, being a team, it is the most important thing. To understand that we play for the badge. We have to play to make our fans proud of us. We have to play to show desire. The fire in your eyes to win. If you have this, for sure, you don't go out in FA Cup and today you win.
"Maybe previously in the other games something can change. But here we're used to it for a long time. The club has the responsibility for the transfer market, every coach that stayed here has the responsibility. And the players? The players? Where are the players? In my experience, I can tell you that if you want to be competitive, if you want to fight, you have to improve this aspect. And this aspect, I can tell you, in this moment is really, really low. And I see only 11 players that play for themselves.
"You are finding an alibi, another alibi. You try to find an excuse for the players. OK, continue to do this, to find an excuse for the players. You do only this! You do only this. Excuses for the players. 'But the players, maybe, my future, then we lost confidence, they lost spirit, they lost being a team...' Excuses. Excuses. Excuse. Try to protect them every time.
"Come on, come on, come on. We are professional. The club pay us a lot of money. The players receive money, me receive money, you understand? Not to find excuse or not show spirit or show a sense of belonging or don't show a sense of responsibility because we are showing this. For me this is unacceptable because for me this is the first time in my career to see a situation like this. Until now I wasn't able to change, not to change but compare to last season the situation went to become worse.
"Why [is this happening]? Because they are used to it here, they are used to it. They don't play for something important, yeah. They don't want to play under pressure, they don't want to play under stress. It is easy in this way. Tottenham's story is this. 20 years there is the owner and they never won something, but why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stays here? I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment.
"Until now I try to hide the situation but now no because I repeat I don't want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans. They follow us, pay the ticket and to see the team another time to have this type of performance is unacceptable. We have to think a lot about this."
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Antonio Conte returns to management with job in Serie A.
