Napoli President Responds to Conte Recent Criticism | OneFootball

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis hit back at frustrated manager Antonio Conte in his latest interview. Speaking to Radio Crc via Gazzetta dello Sport, the controversial filmmaker blasted his coach for disrupting the harmony at Stadio Diego Maradona amid an intense Serie A title race.

Conte cut a forlorn figure during Friday’s press conference, claiming that ‘in these eight months in Naples, I’ve understood that many things just can’t be done.’ Conte’s frustration is hardly unfounded, even though Napoli remain firmly in the race for their second Scudetto in three years.

Indeed, Napoli failed to sign a proper replacement for standout winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain in January. Milan loanee Noah Okafor has struggled to match expectations, leaving Antonio Conte short of reliable attacking options.

However, it’s fair to say that the charismatic manager couldn’t have picked a worse moment to shake things up, with Napoli teetering on the edge of a crucial run-in. Therefore, De Laurentiis felt compelled to respond.

“All football teams are in a process of evolution to the end,” the Napoli bigwig said. “The only script you cannot write in advance is that of a football match and the season around it. We have a strong and muscular team, we’ll have a lot of fun over the next few years.

“If I were to abandon the Stadio Maradona, I’d create a big problem for the Mayor. He’s giving it his all to make the necessary verifications, but there are problems not just on the third tier.

“We must work out if the structure is from 1959, then revamped in 1990, can it withstand further work? Can we build 100 boxes and 70,000 seats to be competitive with the northern clubs? Can we make visibility clear from every seat?” the Napoli chief concluded.