Capello blames Conte for Napoli’s poor Champions League results

Fabio Capello argues that Antonio Conte is unable to convey ‘strength’ and ‘calmness’ to his Napoli team in the Champions League: ‘It’s a psychological issue.’

Napoli are the Serie A table leaders, level on 31 points with Milan, but the Partenopei are the lowest-ranked Serie A club in the Champions League.

The Partenopei have lost three games from three away from home in Europe this season, conceding 10 goals far from the Stadio Maradona.

Their latest loss came against José Mourinho’s Benfica on Wednesday.

“Maybe Conte isn’t able to transmit that calmness and strength to the players the way he does in the league,” Capello told Gazzetta.

The former Italian coach feels that Napoli’s poor results in the Champions League are not determined by tactical problems.

“I don’t think so. If you dominate in Italy or England, leagues where Conte has won, it means you’re providing something positive in terms of your playing system,” he argued.

“In my opinion, it’s more of a psychological issue.

“When you play in European competitions, you have to be convinced of your strength, find a certain calmness and take risks without being afraid to be bold,” he continued.

“Maybe, Antonio, judging by the results he gets in Europe, isn’t able to transmit this to the team.”

Napoli will visit Copenhagen and host Chelsea in the last two league phase games in January 2026.

The Partenopei will need at least one victory to secure a spot in the knockout playoff.

In the last Champions League round, Inter lost to Liverpool at home, while Juventus and Atalanta beat Pafos and Chelsea, respectively.

“In the last matchday, I saw that we struggled to cope with the opponents’ intensity. Inter, for example, had difficulties against Liverpool in terms of aggression, even if they would have deserved a draw,” Capello concluded.

“Also, maybe other teams have more well-equipped squads than ours. Manchester City, for example, replaced Haaland and Foden within 20 minutes, introducing players of equal quality (Reijnders and Marmoush).

“Above all, Premier League teams are more accustomed than ours to handling a double schedule, and they find it less tiring to recover because they are used to always playing at a very high pace, so when they play at a slightly lower tempo, they are already at the level of our maximum.”