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Very adaptable and quick to adjust
The Diego Armando Maradona Stadium team had a terrible decline in June 2024, only ranked 10th in Serie A despite being jubilantly celebrating the Italian football championship just a year ago. Becoming the former champion, falling out of the group to qualify for European cups despite changing 3 coaches throughout the season, Napoli really lost direction.
In the midst of the turmoil, boss Aurelio de Laurentiis remembered Conte when the coach was unemployed after being fired by Tottenham. Conte is famous for his winning streak with the teams he led, from Juventus with 3 Serie A titles (2011-2014), Chelsea winning the Premier League (2016-2017) and Inter Milan succeeding in Serie A (2020-2021).
Coach Conte joins the list of successful coaches in Serie A after leading Napoli to the championship this season. (Photo: AP)
Being a champion is one thing, Conte is also a coach who can easily adapt to the difficult situations in the places he visits. Adapting, adjusting and constantly changing to create a suitable environment for the players under his command, Conte always knows what to do to train his troops and create the best performance.
When officially starting to restructure Napoli, Conte was forced to rely on "veterans" in defense such as Di Lorenzo (31 years old), Rrahmani (31), Spinazzola (32) or Matthias Olivera (27). In attack, Victor Osimhen "rebelled" and demanded to leave and was pushed to Galatasaray on loan. Another pillar of the 2023 Scudetto campaign, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, was "revived" by Conte but also left in January 2025 with the destination being the rich team PSG.
Having debuted with a title when helping Napoli overcome Modena in the Italian Cup final in August 2024, Conte immediately received a "bitter fruit" in Serie A when his team lost 0-3 to Verona in the opening match. He had to apologize to the fans without thinking that 9 months later, everyone would have to joyfully welcome Napoli on the day they returned to the throne.
Turn "drifters" into heroes
Insistent on reuniting with his former student Romelu Lukaku, Conte has shown that he has the ability to turn a fallen star into a hope. Lukaku played very well under Conte's previous leadership, scoring 64 goals in 95 matches at Inter. This season, the 30 million euro star plays a key role in Napoli's attack with 14 goals and 10 assists.
Scott McTominay is another case when the Scottish midfielder fell out of favor at Man United but for only 30 million euros, Napoli received a precious gem. Not only quickly became the heart of the midfield, with 12 goals in Serie A and impressive performances, McTominay was honored as "Player of the season". He was the author of the opening goal in the decisive match against Cagliari, burying the dream of a comeback of the great rival Inter Milan.
Helping the Naples team win the Scudetto title for the second time in 3 seasons - also the fourth title in the 99-year history of the team, Conte became the second coach in history, following in the footsteps of Fabio Capello, to win the Serie A championship with 3 different teams, including Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli.
Fans have been taking to the streets to celebrate Napoli's Scudetto win for days. President Aurelio de Laurentiis was the most moderate, sitting down with Conte early to discuss strategies for winning the first European Cup since the legendary Diego Maradona took the team to the 1989 UEFA Cup.
Napoli must seize the opportunity in the context of the "lost giants" such as Juventus, AC Milan or AS Roma, Fiorentina still cannot return anytime soon.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/mat-tay-nhu-antonio-conte-196250525204330668.htm
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