Buongiorno: Napoli ‘always had confidence’ in Conte

Alessandro Buongiorno expects a ‘tough’ game against Qarabag tomorrow and insists Napoli ‘always had confidence’ in Antonio Conte.

Buongiorno joined Conte for a pre-match press conference on Monday, on the eve of a Champions League match against Qarabag.

The Partenopei beat Atalanta 3-1 at the Stadio Maradona in Serie A on Saturday, reacting to a 2-0 loss suffered against Bologna before the break.

“We are happy with the win against Atalanta, but we need to recover our energy immediately. We started preparing for it yesterday. We know it will be a tough, hard game, and we’ll be ready,” Buongiorno said via TuttoNapoli.

“Qarabag come from important games, they’ve had a good run and will be a match that demands effort and energy in both phases.

“They have a lot of intensity, work a lot on counter-attacks and press heavily when they attack. Beyond that, there will be many individual duels when we press and when they press, and it’s up to us to win them.”

Conte was very critical of the team after the last defeat against Bologna, but Buongiorno said the coach and the team always trusted each other.

“We’ve always had confidence in the coach, just as he has in us,” said the Italian defender.

“What needed to be done was to recover some energy, especially mentally. Less positive periods happen to everyone. We put everything on the pitch, spent a lot of energy to win, and we’re happy about that. The team’s commitment has always been there.”

Due to the ongoing injury crisis, Conte switched to a three-man defence against Atalanta.

“We also worked on it last season. Both systems require work from the wide defenders to press and help in offensive play,” said Buongiorno.

“I think we did well in finding the right positions. We did well, and the coach immediately explained the movements to us.

Against Qarabag, “we have to be careful with defensive positioning, preparing for potential defensive phases while we attack and keeping an eye on the opponents who stay high,” Buongiorno continued.

“This system allows us to help the play more, but we must always remember defensive responsibilities.”

Buongiorno also answered a question about the many injuries Napoli have had this season.

“We always think about playing at full speed. Everyone tries their best with the technical and medical staff. Who are very high-level. Then we have to give our all at every moment without overthinking,” he concluded.

Napoli have collected four points in four Champions League games this season, grabbing one win, one draw and two defeats against Manchester City and PSV.

Next Sunday, they’ll face Serie A leaders Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.