The coach and the 0-2 loss at the Olimpico against Lazio: “Neres? We’ll wait and see… Now we’ll be playing every three days and there aren’t many rotation options. Reinforcements? Last year I said, ‘We won’t make any mistakes’… The club knows… I’m keeping quiet”
Napoli’s 2026 season is off to a strong start. Antonio Conte’s team defeated Lazio without losing ground at the top of the table. “I have to congratulate the team; in such a difficult match, we played at the Olimpico with such technical precision and physical strength, leaving little for our opponents. We were good and well-prepared. We played a match of very high quality,“ the coach explained with satisfaction. The only downside is David Neres’ injury, which could add to the list of unavailable players. ”We have to wait until tomorrow and assess the extent of the problem with medical tests. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious, because we’ve been dealing with major absences for quite some time this year.”
The Azzurri confirmed their excellent form with a very solid performance. “When you have time to prepare for matches, you try to highlight your players’ strengths and find the spaces to strike. The execution of the game was exceptional. If only we’d scored one more goal, no one would have cried foul; perhaps that’s what’s missing a bit in our attack—we could be more clinical. But we’re doing very well; I’m truly happy because hardly anyone could have imagined, despite all the absences and with such a limited squad, that we’d achieve such significant results,” Conte continued. Now, however, the situation is getting complicated, as the schedule of closely spaced matches will intensify. “We’re racking up significant wins, with high-quality performances. We have to keep this up; I know it won’t be easy because we’ll be playing every three days and we have limited rotation options—let’s hope we don’t pay the price for it.”
transfer market— January is the month of the winter transfer window, but Conte doesn’t want to hear about it. “I won’t touch on this topic; last year I said, ‘Let’s not cause any damage,’ and we sold Kvaratskhelia. The management knows my thinking; what we’re doing and with whom is plain for all to see, and everyone knows the recovery timelines for the unavailable players. Besides, I’m the coach and I have to get the best out of the resources I have; the expectations placed on me are always extremely high, so I and the whole team will always do our best, no matter what,” he concluded.
