Napoli Coach Antonio Conte Announces Departure

Rome. Napoli coach Antonio Conte has announced his departure from the club. He has decided to leave the club just 12 months after leading Napoli to the Serie A title.

Conte, who is also a former coach of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, took charge of Napoli in 2024. He succeeded in leading Napoli to their fourth Serie A title in history in his first season at the club. However, this season Napoli could not defend their title and had to settle for second place in the table, 11 points behind champions Inter Milan. Napoli also failed to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League, which has always been challenging for Conte.

After a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Udinese in Sunday's final match of the season, Conte announced his farewell at a joint press conference with club president Aurelio De Laurentiis. Speaking to the Italian media, Conte said, 'It is an honor for me to be the coach of Napoli and it has been very special. The two seasons here have been excellent and it has been an extraordinary experience.' He clarified that this was his personal decision and that he had informed the president about it a few weeks ago, adding that Napoli would always be like home to him.

During the press conference, he was asked about the possibility of becoming the new coach of the Italian national football team in the future. In response to the question, Conte joked, 'My suggestion for this would be to appoint Pep Guardiola.'

In fact, Conte had prepared to leave the club last summer, but after negotiations with president De Laurentiis, he agreed to stay at the club. 

With the goal of defending the title, Napoli had brought new players like Kevin De Bruyne and Rasmus Hojlund into the squad this season. However, due to player injuries and fluctuations in performance, Napoli's title defense campaign was hampered.