Naples they confirmed the departure of the manager Antonio Conte after a tense end-of-season press conference attended by the club’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
The Serie A club announced Conte’s departure on Monday with a short message on social media that read: “Thanks for everything coach.”
Conte leaves the club less than 24 hours after Napoli wrapped up their campaign with a 1-0 win over Udinese, a result that secured second place behind champions Inter Milan.
The Italian coach used the post-match press conference to officially announce his departure before embroiling De Laurentiis over Napoli’s season and Inter’s title success.
Conte rejects the injury excuse
De Laurentiis suggested Napoli could have retained the Serie A title had injuries not disrupted the squad throughout the campaign.
Several important players, including Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo, have missed significant parts of the season.
“Without the injuries we would have been champions,” said De Laurentiis.
Conte immediately distanced himself from that view and insisted that Inter deserved credit for winning the league.
“That probably wouldn’t happen,” Conte replied.
“Inter’s merits must be acknowledged.”
The former Chelsea and Tottenham manager also criticized attempts to use injuries as an excuse for missing out on the title.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t like to get attached to these things,” he added.
“We have to acknowledge other people’s victories and show respect. If we want respect, we have to give it. Inter deserved to win the league, injuries or not.”
Napoli is preparing for a new era
Both Conte and De Laurentiis revealed that they had already made the decision to part ways months earlier in the season.
Conte’s departure brings to an end a short but eventful spell in Naples, where he returned the club to a Champions League spot despite an inconsistent second half of the campaign.
De Laurentiis refused to reveal who could replace Conte, but hinted that returning injured players would give the next manager a stronger platform for the new season.
