The difficult days of the Italian champions and their coach, between bad moods and injuries
The leave period agreed between Napoli and Antonio Conte ends today, and he should return to train the team at Castel Volturno tomorrow, in view of the resumption of the championship, which for the Italian champions is set for Saturday 22 November at 8.45pm at the Maradona against Raffaele Palladino’s Atalanta.
In view of understanding what will happen tomorrow, there remain many doubts and many situations to be resolved at Napoli. Has Conte recharged his batteries and found the right spirit again? Will the team be able to obey the coach’s orders unconditionally or will there still be some bad feelings? And above all, will the group be able to regain cohesion with a hunger for victories? The test against a team that has just changed coach, and which will therefore have new motivation, will be important to test the health of a Napoli team which, after the difficult defeat in Bologna and Conte’s harsh words, has experienced a very delicate stoppage, and which also finds itself grappling with a difficult situation in terms of injuries.
The remaining players are waiting for Antonio Conte’s return, but the week that awaits them does not look simple at all. Not only because, after the outburst following the defeat in Bologna, the coach will have to deal with a group decimated by injuries – Anguissa above all – but also because the midfield puzzle remains unsolved, thanks to the Gilmour doubt in view of the exam with Palladino’s renewed Atalanta. Furthermore, the conditions of the other players in the Napoli squad will also need to be assessed as they will return to Castel Volturno from tomorrow to Wednesday, having completed their commitments in the World Cup qualifiers. In essence, preparation for the match against Atalanta can only really begin between Wednesday and Thursday, leaving Conte with a couple of sessions to assemble what remains of the squad.
While waiting for Conte’s return and tomorrow’s developments, let’s retrace the salient points of Napoli’s last week.
