Antonio Conte was typically testy after Sunday’s surprising 2-1 loss at Como, which led to his Napoli side being displaced at the summit of Serie A by Inter.
When he was asked if he felt if the young man in the home dugout, Cesc Fabregas, was capable of having a career as “fortunate” as his own, Conte quickly countered, “A fortunate career? No, a successful career. You have to be careful with your words. Everything I’ve achieved, I’ve achieved because I broke my back.”
And that’s precisely why Conte was in such foul form on the banks of the beautiful Lake Como. As he said himself, his players had initially responded well to the concession of an early own goal, drawing level soon after through Giacomo Raspadori to go in all-square at the break, but simply didn’t turn up for the second half.
“Today,” Conte continued, “we were Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. And it’s not the first time it’s happened this season.”
Indeed, much like Naples itself, there are two sides to Conte’s team, and nobody is quite sure which one will turn up for Saturday’s Scudetto showdown with Inter at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona…