Wordplay as confirmation: Conte stays at SSC Napoli
Antonio Conte led SSC Napoli to the Scudetto – subsequently, rumors swirled about the star coach's possible departure. Now Napoli has put those rumors to rest.
Acclaimed and convinced to stay: Antonio Conte. IMAGO/ZUMA Press
Southern Italian-born Antonio Conte led Napoli to the fourth league title in the club's history in his first season as coach – prompting not only phenomenal celebrations at Mount Vesuvius, but also numerous rumors. The 55-year-old has eight seasons as a coach behind him, winning six titles (three with Juventus and once each with Chelsea, Inter, and now Napoli).
Rumor had it that Conte's former club Juve, where he played professionally from 1992 to 2004, successfully coached from 2011 to 2014, and where his family lives, was courting the successful coach. The extroverted club president and owner Aurelio De Laurentis even fueled the rumors himself when he told Rai 1: "If you don't feel comfortable in a certain environment, you have to move, as was the case with Luciano Spalletti after the 2023 Scudetto."
Nevertheless, Napoli weren't willing to let Conte, whose contract runs until 2027, leave – and apparently convinced the coach to stay. It was De Laurentis himself who made Conte's stay public. After a meeting with the club's management and the coach, the 76-year-old wrote via the messaging service X , "Full speed ahead, stronger than ever," and accompanied his post with a photo of himself next to Conte during the championship parade in the streets of Naples.
At the same time, the club shared a video on social media with highlights from the past season and the telling title "Con te again" - a mix of the Italian words "con te" ("with you") and the English word "again".
The cheering crowds at the victory parade and the immense love shown by the frenetic SSC fans likely also played a part. De Laurentis is said to have promised to invest in the squad and the dilapidated sports fields, which Conte and his team blamed for various injuries during the season.
