Koeman reveals what Lang told him about Conte: ‘Haven’t seen a ball for 28 days’

Ronald Koeman has revealed the surprising anecdote that Noa Lang told him about Napoli head coach Antonio Conte, who is reportedly experiencing tension with a growing list of his first-team players. 

According to reports from Il Mattino, a growing number of Napoli players are becoming frustrated with Conte’s training methods and a lack of communication. It has been claimed that the head coach does not even provide his players with weekly schedules for their training sessions at Castel Volturno. 

Despite the fact that Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has recently reaffirmed his faith, trust and confidence in Conte, reports in Italy claim that there is still tension between the coach and his players. 

Among the players believed to be frustrated with life under Conte is summer signing Lang, who joined the Partenopei at a cost of €25m plus add-ons from PSV in July. 

Speaking after Napoli’s disappointing 6-2 defeat against his former side, PSV, in October, Lang revealed that he had only spoken to Conte once since signing, and also added: “Every player wants to play. I don’t know what else to do. It’s better not to say anything,”

Lang’s national team head coach, Koeman, has since provided another detail about life under Conte. 

Speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of the Netherlands’ World Cup qualifier against Poland, Koeman said: “I sat down with (Lang) in September and asked him how things were going in Italy, and he told me: ‘We’ve been in a training camp for 28 days and I haven’t seen a ball’.”