Yahoo Sports Conte: ‘Not possible for Napoli to underestimate Atalanta’
Antonio Conte warns Napoli that if Arsenal had to make tactical sacrifices to deal with Atalanta, then so will they on Sunday. ‘It is not possible for us to underestimate this match.’
It kicks off on Sunday at 11.30 GMT between perhaps the form teams in Serie A right now.
The Partenopei are running away at the top of the table and won every match except for a single draw away to Juventus since the opening weekend.
As for La Dea, they have won four on the bounce domestically, scoring 15 goals and conceding two.
“This is a big danger, because Atalanta are a strong team, they won the Europa League by ending Bayer Leverkusen’s season-long unbeaten record,” said Conte in his press conference.
“They’ve been regulars in the Champions League for years and every season have to be considered among the best sides. It’s all credit to the club and to Gian Piero Gasperini, a coach who also worked with me when I was a player at Juventus. When I was injured, I’d spend recovery time with his youth team.
“It is not possible for Napoli to underestimate this match. If anything, it could be Atalanta who underestimate us, seeing what happened last season. You all keep telling me it is an advantage not playing European games, but I warn you it is a disadvantage because we don’t have such a deep squad.”
Nonetheless, Stanislav Lobotka is the only injury absentee, who has been replaced over the last few rounds by summer signing Billy Gilmour.
“Lobotka will be ready for the next match, he is into the final stages of recovery,” noted Conte.
“I never had any doubts on Gilmour, he was a player I really wanted and he deserved to play earlier, but Lobotka was putting in exceptional performances. Gilmour is young and can stay at Napoli for many years.”
Napoli ‘work in progress’ for Conte
Conte has transformed the Napoli squad in just four months, though he insists that the tag of Scudetto favourites is still entirely unearned.
“I always say we’ve got a ‘Work in Progress’ sign up, you cannot think of fixing everything in four months. You can say what you like, but my experience tells me we cannot expect to leapfrog over necessary steps in the process. We’ve got to put the blinkers on and keep working. It is a positive moment, but the less positive ones will come along.”
If Atalanta are the powerhouse that he makes them out to be, then will beating them represent a Scudetto showdown for Conte and Napoli?
“I don’t know if I’d call it a Scudetto clash, but for both clubs the main target is to qualify for the Champions League. Atalanta can set the example for us, building year by year, even when selling big players.”
Conte has said that winning the Serie A title in his first season at Napoli would be a miracle, so does he believe in miracles?
“I am religious and I only know one person who can make miracles happen. I pray all the time, as well as for my family, I also pray for the players. I mean that. We’ve got to put the work in, then after that there have always been footballing miracles, but you need to work to get yourself in those situations. Prayers alone are not enough.
“Enthusiasm is fuel to the fire, I will be the last person who tries to dampen that and it is only right that the fans dream, but I must also be realistic and say this is a process for Napoli.”
The Partenopei have in particular fixed the defensive lapses they had last season and Conte gives a great deal of the credit to Matteo Politano, who is nominally part of the attacking trident.
He also notes that when Atalanta drew 0-0 with Arsenal in the Champions League, the Gunners made tactical sacrifices.
“It was Matteo who gave me the idea to drop down if needed when under attack. Against Atalanta, Arsenal put Thomas Partey on Ademola Lookman to form a five-man line, sometimes Arsenal also brought Saka and Martinelli deep. There is an evolution, you attack in one way and defend in another. It’s not just about defenders, but the whole team working together to defend.
“I have really drummed the tactical issues into the players ahead of this game and we’ll see what happens.”
Conte concluded his press conference by noting something that had “irritated” him about the media coverage, asking the papers to focus on the ‘we’ rather than this being specifically his team.
