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Napoli’s coach, Antonio Conte, spoke at a press conference on the eve of the Scudetto match against Cagliari at the Maradona stadium.

Antonio Conte, coach of Napoli, spoke at a press conference just over 24 hours before the Scudetto clash against Cagliari, valid for the final round of the league. The Neapolitans, with a one-point lead over Inter going into the final 90 minutes, will celebrate city-wide if they defeat the Sardinians.

ROMELU LUKAKU SILENCES EVERYONE ( PHOTO BY SALVATORE FORNELLI )

Napoli, Conte’s words

You are considered a specialist in these cases, but it will be a different night. What do you feel?

“Certainly a lot of desire to play, we come from a beautiful but stressful season and clearly this could be the last game that closes a season for me in a new square, a new environment, where we clearly feel the responsibility to give something beautiful and historic to Naples, to the fans”.

Napoli has been ahead more. If it ends as everyone here hopes, will the strongest or most skilled team have won?

“I start from my experience that has always told me that the teams that have deserved and demonstrated more win. We are talking about 38 matches, unlike short tournaments, which are not even that short now, where the draw is important, you find opponents with suspended players or injured, in a shorter path something different can emerge, but 38 matches are many and define who deserves it. It takes consistency, in results, performances, managing situations. In short tournaments you have less time”.

You are a specialist. Tomorrow will it take more courage, humility, resilience or what? Are you sorry for not being on the bench?

“I can be a specialist in victories, but also in defeats. My career speaks for itself if you see what I have lost, how many finals, 3 Champions League, a World Cup, a European Championship, a UEFA Cup, I could tell you many. I try to be a specialist in helping the club and the players, then if our best leads us to win then it is a great satisfaction, but I do not want to forget that in my career there are victories and defeats that have created a very tough and sometimes even bad past for me, which makes me become tough sometimes. It’s a shame not to be there, after a season like this you would like to be there, with your fans to lead the team. There is great trust in my staff, as always, in the fans, in the environment that will be there and even though my heart will be there from the stands, actually two hearts”.

What was the week like after the effort in Parma? What did you think?

“Distracting is very difficult, distraction comes to me when I eat, at lunch or dinner, maybe not even lunch, only dinner. Or when I sleep. But it is inevitable, a short but intense week, full of emotions, we know very well that the mind takes us everywhere. We tried to focus on work, prepare well, it is the most important game of the season. Before we talked about important, very important, this is absolutely the one that decides the season and decides what kind of season you have had, whether excellent or outstanding!”.

The injury situation? Are there any self-nomination messages like Jesus’s. The Raspa-Neres doubt?

“The situation has not changed since the last game, from all points of view, both in terms of injuries and condition, those who were behind are still behind and those who played are much better”.

In a game like this, do you attack right away, even to send a message to the opponent, or do you calculate?

“It doesn’t change anything, we have always attacked the games, from the beginning, it’s my belief. I have always tried to convey it, sometimes we succeed better, other times it’s more difficult, it also depends on the opponent, tomorrow there is Cagliari which is a good team and we will have to play our game respecting the opponent 100%. If we respect it we will have more chances to win, I also reminded the group of my football experiences and through what I have experienced I try to give important warnings to the boys”.

You coined ‘amm faticà’, in the beginning, now I ask you: camm fa?

“Also tomorrow we will have to work, work in attack and defense, all together, we know very well that work has brought us to be here today talking about something special. We will have to try to finish the job. When we drew with Inter I said ‘if we want, we can’, today the team knows well that the job needs to be finished”.

Have you already made an assessment? What kind of season has it been?

“Certainly very demanding, the first thing I said at the presentation in Dimaro was, ‘it’s the first time I receive before I give’ and for me having received unconditional esteem even before starting was an important push, also a very important pressure. When you want to repay the people who have faith in you, based on your career, the paper, the curriculum, but had not seen the type of work we would face and so I felt a lot of pressure and the weight on my shoulders, whatever was done was said for Conte, Conte, but it’s absurd and ugly, whatever was done was done for the club, for Napoli, from signings to sales and everything that happened is not for me Conte, or to please Conte, it’s not like that. Everything done and directed was for the club, the growth of Napoli”.

It has been a season characterized by a very strong relationship between Napoli and Napoli, do you feel like saying something to the people?

“It is difficult for me to say something to the Neapolitan fans. Even during the year I often said that players, coaches, owners can change, but the passion of the people towards football and Napoli will never change, immeasurable, so I can’t say anything, we have had everything from them, closeness in positive and negative moments when we stumbled a bit. They immediately had trust in the whole group, what I feel like saying is to continue to be who they are”.

You talked about referees only after Inter, Inter complained after the last game but you had a refereeing error in Parma.

“What I had to say I said, the thing that pleases me is that some referee also appreciated what I said because the VAR and communication need to be improved. Let’s not forget that we have the best referees, I can say it having also coached in England, but with the VAR there is a lot of work to be done. There needs to be more clarity, often it intervenes, other times it doesn’t, I still haven’t understood when it can or cannot. Everyone complained when they were touched, but no one had the… that I had when I complained with Inter and for weeks on TV I was insulted. The difference of who says things, I have to be careful because the resonance I have is different from others”.