Antonio Conte won’t take over Napoli despite a robust attempt by Aurelio De Laurentiis to hire him to replace Rudi Garcia on the bench. The former Tottenham boss reiterated on Wednesday night that his choice was to rest to recuperate energies and spend time with his family for a while longer.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, there is nothing more than that in his decision. It doesn’t depend on money or the project. He likes the team and is on good terms with the president. However, he doesn’t feel ready to return to the dugout.
Per Fabrizio Romano (via SportdelSud), Conte had direct talks with the Napoli brass, but they didn’t go well, and he opted to wait for other opportunities. The turn of events wrong-footed the Azzurri. They don’t have an alternative to keeping Garcia at this stage, Corriere dello Sport informs.
It remains to be seen whether the French manager will indeed survive the break or if the patron will reach out to other managers.
Our Take on Conte and Napoli
It was worth a shot, but probably they should have done their homework on his intentions before their chase became so public. Now they are left with a boss who’s even more undermined. They’ll either have to sack him anyway and settle for a second choice or voice convinced support in him.
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