Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has turned down the Napoli job after a day of negotiations.
“Today Conte had a long and direct conversation with Napoli,” European soccer journalist Fabrizio Romano wrote on his personal social media account on Wednesday. However, Conte has decided to continue waiting for new opportunities. The discussions were not positive” and “Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis spoke directly with Conte, but in the end no agreement was reached. Conte prefers to wait before looking for a new job.”
Earlier, on November 11, Romano wrote: “Napoli have officially approached Conte. A direct conversation will take place to see if Conte can be the right man to replace Rudi Garcia.” “No final decision has been made yet, as there are many important things to discuss with Conte,” Romano said, adding that Napoli have tipped Conte to replace Garcia, who is likely to be sacked after a poor run of results this season.
After winning the league title last season for the first time in 33 years since the 1989/1990 season, Napoli have not been as destructive this season as they were last year. With the departure of coach Luciano Spalletti, the team has lost its signature attacking style.
The departure of Kim Min-jae, who was a stalwart of the backline, was not adequately replaced, and players like Hvitsa Kvarachelia and Victor Osimhen, who were ace in the hole last season, have naturally slumped in form. After clinching the title early with just four losses in 38 league games last season, Napoli have already suffered two defeats in just eight league games this season.
Off the field, the team’s atmosphere has been turbulent as Osimhen has been in the news. On March 25, Osimhen got into an altercation with Garcia when he was sent off after missing a penalty against Bologna. Napoli’s official social media account then posted a video of the penalty and added a racist slur. The video was later deleted, but by then many fans had seen it. While the conflict appears to have been resolved, it was a messy one, with some fans defending Napoli and others saying the racial slur was still wrong.
In their most recent league game before the international break, a 1-3 defeat at home to Fiorentina saw Garcia’s sacking. The club 바카라사이트 wanted to replace Garcia with a more proven manager who could sway the players, and Conte emerged as a candidate.
While Conte was heavily criticized for his leadership during his time in charge of Tottenham last season, the Italian coach’s previous stint at Juventus, where he oversaw the resurgence of the Italian giants, suggests that the club has faith in his abilities.
Conte didn’t seem to rule out the possibility of taking over at Napoli, giving an ambiguous answer saying, “I know very well that many things can happen in the future,” but the finalization of the deal with Napoli ended the picture of Conte in charge of Napoli.