Serie A Champion Napoli must be humble and learn from the mistakes they made during their disastrous title defense in the 2023-24 campaign, manager Antonio Conte warned.
Napoli underwent a turbulent campaign 2023-24, finished 10th and went through three managers after coach Luciano Spalletti left the club. Spalletti had led them to their first Scudetto title in 33 years in the 2022-23 season.
Conte, who won three Serie A titles as manager of Juventus and one in Inter Milan together with a Premier League trophy with Chelsea, was given the responsibility to breathe new life into Napoli last year and immediately won the Scudetto in the recently closed season.
“By definition, those who have the scudetto on their sweater are favorites or among the favorites. We don't have to shy away from or hide from fear,” Conte told reporters on Friday.
“We have worked hard to adjust ourselves. It is inevitable that this year will be very challenging.
“But there is a very recent past that we should never forget. We have to learn lessons, even from negative things. What happened two years ago must be a lesson, especially for the environment. We are on the field and we work, there will never be a fancy flights. We will be very modest.”
Napoli has strengthened their title-winning team with the addition of Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, the Dutch winger Noa Lang and Italian center-back Luca Marianucci, among other things.
De Bruyne, considered one of the largest midfielders in the Premier League history, lifted 19 trophies in Manchester City since his relocation from the German side VFL Wolfsburg -a Trek with six Premier League titles and one Champions League crown.
Conte hopes that the 34-year-old Napoli can help to take that extra step.
“He comes to us to take on a new challenge, it is also a different situation for him: he has already reached very high levels in his career and has much more to give football,” Conte added.
Napoli starts their preseason on Tuesday with a friendly match against Arezzo.