Napoli boss Conte braced for emotional Lecce reunion

Antonio Conte is anticipating an emotional occasion when his Napoli side meet his former club Lecce on Saturday, but he knows the Serie A leaders have a job to do.

Conte started out in the youth ranks at Lecce in 1985 and made his debut the following year, before going on to become a household name as a midfielder with Juventus and Italy.

Napoli, who went through three coaches and finished 10th last season, have taken 19 points from his first eight matches at the helm to lead the Scudetto race at this early stage.

While Conte is looking forward to his reunion with Lecce, his primary focus is on keeping the Partenopei’s strong run going.

“There are feelings, but there is also professionalism as well. You have to separate those things,” Conte said on Thursday.

“Lecce represents my origins, the dusty pitches, my father’s team, where I grew up and went through the ranks up to Serie A.

“It’s always held a special place in my heart. Nobody will take that away from me, but there’s still an opponent to take on.”

Official team photo shoot – Serie A 2024/25

#ProudToBeNapoli | @anmnapoli pic.twitter.com/FWwUh44tZL

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) October 24, 2024

Discussing the options in his squad, the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss added: “I make choices based on what I see, maybe certain things that aren’t always seen by everyone else, even if you seem to know at least 85% of what goes on. I try to put the best team out in the formation that I think suits us best.

“It’s an important game against Lecce if we want to continue getting results. I still have tomorrow to make the final decisions and draw up my starting XI.”

Napoli are yet to field star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and close-season signing David Neres in the same lineup, but Conte feels the pair can play together in the right scenario.

“It’s important to remember that when you play against a team that blocks off five channels, there’s a need to drop a winger into midfield, like [Matteo] Politano, or drop a midfielder deeper to create a five like other teams do,” Conte said.

“We could also play [Stanislav] Lobotka or [Billy] Gilmour deeper so that there’s not a numerical inferiority.

“If teams don’t line up against us like that, then there’s a possibility of seeing Kvara and Neres together, but balance is the basis of everything.”