Then Tottenham coach Antonio Conte gestures on the sidelines during the UEFA Champions League Group D soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham Hotspur at Deutsche Bank Park. Conte was stunned to have led Napoli to the Serie A title in his first season but stopped short of saying he would stay at the club. Arne Dedert/dpa
Antonio Conte was stunned to have led Napoli to the Serie A title in his first season but stopped short of saying he would stay at the club.
The Naples club picked up their fourth Scudetto overall and second in three seasons after the 2-0 win over Cagliari on Friday. It meant they finished a point ahead of defending champions and Champions League finalists Inter Milan.
Their 2023 title came under Luciano Spalletti and a lot of the players remain, although top stars such as Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had moved on.
“These lads have been fantastic. It wasn’t easy because the expectation and tension were incredibly high,” Conte, who was not even on the bench on Friday due to a suspension, told reporters.
“It’s a wonderful triumph that my players deserve because a lot of them stayed here and gave it another crack after two years and they gave their all till the end.
“It’s definitely the hardest and most exciting Scudetto of my career. Coming to Naples and rebuilding to this level in the first year was completely unexpected and it’s been amazing.”
Manchester United cast-off Scott McTominay has been the star of Napoli’s season, with the Scotland international scoring a stunner to help down Cagliari.
Whether Conte will stay to lead McTominay and Co. into the Champions League remains to be seen.
Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis said: “I spoke to Conte in January last year but he said he’d prefer to join in June to build the team together. We managed to do that and I thank him because he’s a great coach who’s done an incredible job. I’d be very happy if he took the team into the Champions League next season.”
The fact Napoli – from the poorer Italian south – fended off mighty Inter was not lost on De Laurentiis, who had a 76th birthday to remember on Saturday following the title triumph.
“I feel a lot lighter now because winning this fourth Scudetto means a lot,” the president said. “It means we’re using the work ethic of the South to compete with the powers of the North.”
