The Napoli coach spoke on the eve of the Champions League match in Denmark: “We’re trying to focus on the players we have and always find solutions. We’re trying to hang in there; these are strange times.”
Injuries are weighing heavily, and the fact that Napoli has lost every away game in the Champions League so far doesn’t help. Yet Antonio Conte faced the press conference on the eve of tomorrow night’s match against Copenhagen with confidence. “I’ve been clear with the guys: let’s focus on who’s available and always find solutions. We’ve done that over the past two days, and we hope to bring what we’ve practiced onto the field. We’ll make a few changes because in the last game we lost Politano and Rahmani, plus Neres still can’t shake his ankle problem. So let’s focus on ourselves and give it our all with the players we have.”
Copenhagen hasn’t played an official match since December 7, but for the Salento-born coach, that won’t be an advantage: “We’re focused on ourselves and not thinking about our opponents. We’re coming off a grueling stretch and playing every three days: whoever sets the schedule should have a clear conscience because the players are under significant physical and mental stress. We’ll face a formidable team that performs well at home. Our fans will give us a big boost. My feelings about tomorrow? They’re positive because I have a squad that responds strongly to challenges, even though those challenges are growing. I, on the other hand, was hoping they’d decrease… I have great confidence in my players, and we’ve studied Copenhagen. We know there’s a lot at stake, and we’ll approach it with our game plan. We won’t come here with our heads down: heads held high, let’s play our chances, believing we can win the match. With actions, not words.”
TRANSFER MARKET— Now, regarding the transfer market and the reinforcements requested by your assistant Stellini at the press conference: “On the eve of an important match for us, talking about things outside of the game against Copenhagen doesn’t seem appropriate to me. We’re on the same page with the club and share the same views: we know what we need to tackle the second half of the season. But now let’s focus on the match and channel all our energy into that.” Conte will return to the bench after watching two matches from the stands: “Not being on the bench bothers me a lot because it breaks that connection between me and the players during the game: it’s one thing to give instructions from the sidelines, another to make my presence felt in the good moments and especially the bad ones. The players did a great job of making up for my absence. Vergara, Ambrosino, and Marianucci need to be ready: playing one match against Napoli is like playing thirty in Serie B. They’re ready to lend a hand.” Then on Hojlund: “I can only speak highly of him: he’s a good kid, he’s 22, and he can improve a lot even though he’s already learned how to use his body, how to help the team, and many other things. He’s humble and will grow a lot in the future. And he’s lucky because he gets to work alongside fantastic players like Lukaku, who will help him.”
HOJLUND— The Danish striker, a former Napoli player, spoke alongside Conte at the press conference: “Coming back here is great because this stadium is electric and I have great memories. It’ll be important to win to take a big step forward in the standings: we all want to advance in the Champions League. We’ve been a bit unlucky with injuries, but we remain a strong group. Lukaku’s return? He’s strong and will help us a lot. We can play together too.” On the Copenhagen match: “They’re coming off a month-long break, while we have many players out with injuries. We’ll have to be ready because the Danes won’t give us any gifts. We want to win.”
