Antonio Conte has a clear identity in the eyes of many football fans, but Napoli show a different side to the Italian. Ahead of the trip to Manchester City for the first fixture of the Champions League, he opened up about how his latest job in Italy has helped him to grow in his capacity as a manager.
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‘Before I was far more rigid’
In many ways, Conte is a typical Italian manager. He has stuck stubbornly to routinised patterns of play from a script and used a back three system for long spells of his career. But times are changing.
“My greatest satisfaction is what I’ve been doing at Napoli since last season, which is trying to grow my football knowledge too. What we as coaches must do is try to pick the players, we think are the best, so not sacrifice talent to fit a system or be anchored to ideas.”
After a brief time using a back four at Chelsea, he found success with Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses as wing-backs. Then, when he returned to England from Inter Milan, unlocking Romelu Lukaku in a front two of a 5-3-2 system, he fell back on his standard 3-4-3 system with Tottenham.
A first-year title in an unusual way
He has now overseen a Scudetto charge with Napoli, winning a league title in his first year in a role for the third time in his career. However, the coach achieved this feat in an unusual manner.
“That is a step I started to make at Napoli last year, as before that I was far more rigid on the 3-5-2 or 3-4-2-1, which had helped me to do well at Chelsea and Tottenham. With the arrival of Kevin de Bruyne, we tried to find the right formula to get the most talented players working together.”
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‘We can alternate’
The 56-year-old swiftly scrapped a back five at Napoli and has built on the foundations from Luciano Spalletti to harness the relationship between Giovanni di Lorenzo and Matteo Politano on the right flank. The winger will sometimes act as a fifth defender, but this system is a break from the past.
“Last season, we had to change often out of sheer necessity. I want us to continue along that courageous and difficult path, which from tomorrow can allow us to see what the gap is between us and a huge side like Manchester City.”
Plenty of attacking options to alternate
With the Belgian and Rasmus Højlund in the mix, there are many options for Conte to choose from.
“It is also a long season, so we can alternate a few different situations. In modern football, you play one way when defending, another when attacking, to give no reference points. This is a squad that can also play 4-3-3, as we have Noa Lang, Matteo Politano and Eljif Elmas, who are very versatile.”
