De Laurentiis: ‘Never doubt Conte, Napoli fans can dream’

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis mocks those who ‘ever doubted’ Antonio Conte after Napoli won the Supercoppa Italiana. ‘I tell the fans, dream away.’

The Partenopei have won their third edition of the Supercoppa Italiana, after 1990-91 and 2014-15, although only in the Diego Armando Maradona era had they managed to combine it with the Scudetto.

A Brazilian scored twice in 1990, as Antonio Careca’s double intensified the 5-1 win over Juventus.

Brazilian David Neres was the undoubted star of the show, having already scored in the 2-0 semi-final victory over AC Milan, he then bagged a brace this evening in the Final against Bologna.

It was a sense of revenge too for Napoli, because they had lost 2-0 to Bologna in Serie A on November 9 at the Stadio Dall’Ara.

“Did you have any doubts on Conte? We lost 2-0 at Bologna in Serie A, here we evened it out, with the difference that as my friend Joey Saputo says, it’s a different tournament and there was a trophy at stake,” De Laurentiis told Sport Mediaset, referring to the Bologna President.

“I’m sorry for him, but it’s 1-1 now, so we await them in Naples for the best of three.”

The big winner from the injury crisis in midfield has been Neres, who before that barely got any playing time, but has flourished in the new 3-4-2-1 formation.

He scored three of Napoli’s four goals in the EA Sports FC Supercup, now amassing six goals and four assists in 22 games this season.

Check the Football Italia Player Ratings for Napoli 2-0 Bologna

“I can only tell Napoli fans that last season we only had Serie A and the Coppa Italia, but we had lots of injuries then too, and were constantly hanging by a silk thread,” noted De Laurentiis.

“The same thing happened this season, the difference being we have many more players, as we invested a lot during the summer transfer window. So in bad luck, we also had the good luck of being forced to play and discover the new signings.

“However, let’s just stay calm, because a setback is always behind the corner. So we’ve got another game with Cremonese in Serie A on December 28, we’ve got to be wary and not get distracted.

“We had fun tonight, because it is since the Maradona era that we didn’t win two trophies in a single calendar year, so that is already important. I tell the fans, dream away, and always dream ‘Forza Napoli!’”

The January transfer window is coming up, but what does this side need to be further reinforced?

“We thought the team was strong two years ago and three years ago. There is always a period where the coaches must get the players in sync to give their best. Conte is a maestro, so he didn’t need long to settle in as a winner,” replied De Laurentiis.

“I believe that I’ve made many few bad decisions in my life, with directors of movies, players, or coaches of my teams. I am always reproached by some irreverent journalists that I got it wrong finishing in 10th place, but one day I will tell you the true story of what happened before the end of that season when we won the Scudetto.

“It is a story that keeps going.”

The reference was to when Luciano Spalletti won the Scudetto in 2013 and then walked away, replaced by Rudi Garcia, then Walter Mazzarri, finishing in 10th place.