Napoli banking on Kevin de Bruyne to keep away from repeat of final season’s title collapse

Napoli supervisor Antonio Conte is banking on Kevin De Bruyne to keep away from the debacle of the 2023-24 season. The final time Napoli gained the Serie A, that they had a disastrous title defence marketing campaign within the 2023-24 season, which noticed the membership undergo 3 managers.

After successful the title in 2022-23, their first in 33 years, Napoli completed in tenth place the following season. Conte was handed the duty of reviving Napoli in June final yr and promptly gained them the Scudetto within the lately concluded season.

“By definition, those that have the Scudetto on their jersey are favourites or among the many favourites. We should not draw back or disguise out of worry,” Conte advised reporters on Friday.

“Now we have labored laborious to tailor ourselves. It’s inevitable that this yr can be very difficult.

“However there’s a very current previous that we should always remember. We should be taught classes even from unfavorable issues. What occurred two years in the past have to be a lesson, particularly to the atmosphere. We’re on the sector and we work, there’ll by no means be any flights of fancy. We can be very humble.”

Napoli have strengthened their title-winning squad with the addition of Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, Dutch winger Noa Lang and Italian centre again Luca Marianucci, amongst others.

De Bruyne, considered one of many biggest midfielders in Premier League historical past, lifted 19 trophies at Manchester Metropolis since his 2015 transfer from German facet VfL Wolfsburg — a haul that features six Premier League titles and one Champions League crown.

Conte hopes the 34-year-old will help Napoli take that further step.

“He involves us to tackle a brand new problem, it’s a totally different scenario for him too: he has already reached very excessive ranges in his profession and has much more to present to soccer,” Conte added.

Napoli start their pre-season with a pleasant match in opposition to Arezzo on Tuesday.

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