The first half in Empoli was not positive and obviously, it was not wanted, but sometimes there are also opponents and external situations that lead to difficulties in the first half. We now want to improve compared to the first half in Empoli”.
Napoli coach Antonio Conte said this ahead of Saturday’s match against Lecce at the Maradona.
“We work to be in the right conditions – he added – The championship started with the unexpected defeat in Verona and then everything went down. Then the opposite happened and we are at the top of the standings, but we need to find a balance that is the basis of everything”. “We think about growing, how to improve – he said – and shorten this path of aiming for success as soon as possible. Then only those who have never won say nonsense and I hear a lot of it now. Those who have won know what needs to be done to win again, building solid foundations that are long-lasting.
I often hear subjective judgments that I don’t agree with, we need to be balanced and believe in what we are doing, we do it now knowing that at some point there could also be negative results, without thinking that we are ready to break the world”.
Conte also spoke about Lukaku, who failed in Empoli: “I saw him calm and working professionally in these days. In Empoli, they don’t talk about Lukaku’s performance but about the entire team being insufficient in the first half, first and foremost who had chosen them. The performance was insufficient for everyone. Then in the second half, the team changed on the pitch and we won, changing attitude and situations. There are no things that penalized a single player, the first to do badly was me”. Conte with his league-leading Napoli underlines that the team is thinking about the match against the Apulians and not about Inter-Juventus:
“I don’t look at the opponents – he said – I think about our game, it’s the same for the team, which thinks about putting points in the bag that can be useful if there are difficulties. We are focused on our game on Saturday, trying to continue on this path in the best way possible and knowing that there will be difficulties that we will have to overcome”. The coach also spoke about his start as a footballer in Lecce: “There are feelings – he said – and professions that must be divided, difficult to unite.
For me Lecce represents my origins, where everything began, I grew up there and joined Lecce to make my debut in Serie A and then make the jump to Juventus at 21. It has always been part of my heart. There is Lecce, then there is the match in which Lecce is the opponent we will try to beat”.
