Antonio Conte led SSC Napoli to the Scudetto—after which rumors began to circulate about the star coach’s possible departure. Now Napoli has put an end to these rumors.
Born in southern Italy, Antonio Conte led Napoli to their fourth championship in club history in his first season as coach, not only causing phenomenal celebrations on Mount Vesuvius, but also sparking numerous rumors. The 55-year-old has eight seasons as a coach under his belt, winning the league title six times (three times with Juventus and once each with Chelsea, Inter, and now Napoli).
Rumors were rife 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 on, as was the case with Luciano Spalletti after the 2023 Scudetto.”
De Laurentis makes it public
Nevertheless, Napoli did not want to let Conte, whose contract runs until 2027, go and has now apparently convinced the coach to stay. It was De Laurentis himself who made Conte’s decision public. After a meeting with club officials and the coach, the 76-year-old wrote via short message service X, “Full steam ahead, stronger than ever,” and accompanied his post with a photo showing him next to Conte during the championship parade in the streets of Naples.
At the same time, the club posted a video on social media with highlights from the past season and the telling title “Con te again” – a mixture of the Italian words “con te” (“with you”) and the English word “again,” meaning “with you again.”
The jubilant crowds at the victory parade and the frenetic SSC fans’ immense love for their team will also have played their part. De Laurentis is also said to have promised to invest in the squad and in the desolate sports grounds, which Conte and his team blamed for various injuries during the season.
