Conte: ‘Impossible for Napoli to Continue in Champions League’
TURIN, ITALY - JANUARY 25: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of SSC Napoli, observes the pre-match rituals at the Juventus Stadium, as the team prepares for their upcoming Serie A clash with Juventus FC. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Antonio Conte expresses his complex emotions regarding Napoli's recent Champions League exit, acknowledging the impossibility of continuing with the current injury crisis. The team now focuses solely on the Serie A and Coppa Italia.
The Partenopei will face Fiorentina at the iconic Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this evening at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET). Follow the live updates and action from today's Serie A matches on the dedicated Liveblog (https://football-italia.net/serie-a-live-napoli-fiorentina-pisasas-cag-ver/).
Napoli's Champions League journey ended abruptly just 67 hours ago, following a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea (https://football-italia.net/ucl-napoli-chelsea-conte-champions-league-exit/).
Despite the setback, Conte remains optimistic, stating, 'We created numerous opportunities and were not adequately rewarded, leaving us with regrets. However, we must derive confidence from our progress at a European level, ensuring we can achieve great satisfaction.'
He further emphasizes, 'Every journey requires a touch of luck, and our absence of key players persists. We can learn and evolve, striving for improvement in the future.'
The injury crisis continues to impact the team, ruling out Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, David Neres, Matteo Politano, Amir Rrahmani, Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa, Kevin De Bruyne, and Billy Gilmour. Meanwhile, Luca Marianucci's loan move to Torino was officially confirmed today.
Conte addresses the recovery process of Romelu Lukaku, who has been sidelined due to a severe injury. He mentions, 'Lukaku played a total of 19 minutes across two games. Romelu is making progress, but we require patience and will arrange midweek friendlies to restore his match fitness.'
Conte concludes, 'The reduction in matches is fortunate, as it would have been genuinely impossible to continue under these circumstances.'
