LECCE, Italy :Napoli moved closer to their dream of winning the Serie A title with Saturday’s win at Lecce and while manager Antonio Conte is not taking anything for granted, he dearly wants to be the one writing history as a winner rather than reading about it.
Conte has won league titles with Juventus, Inter Milan and Chelsea, but after taking a Napoli side which finished 10th last season to the verge of lifting the Scudetto he was asked if this would be his masterpiece.
“I will say that if and when it eventually happens,” he told reporters. “Let’s not talk about things we don’t have yet. I have won and lost titles on the last day. I have the experience needed to make the guys understand the importance.
“Whoever wins, writes the history, the others, at most, they get to read about it. Nobody will remember us if we finish second.”
A 1-0 win at Lecce, Conte’s home city and the club where he began his playing career, strengthened Napoli’s grip on top spotas they moved six points clear of Inter Milan, who host Hellas Verona later on Saturday.
Lecce may be battling relegation, but Conte was wary of facing a side who had drawn at Atalanta last time out, a match rescheduled following the death of Lecce physiotherapist Graziano Fiorita.
“A really important victory. It’s not the most important, but it’s important,” Conte said.
“I was very afraid of this match because of many situations, also because Lecce came from a draw snatched by Atalanta.
“Unfortunately, there was also this misfortune that happened to a person I knew very well, just as I knew his father who died a few years ago.”
Conte praised his players for earning the three points, with injuries continuing to hit his side. Defender Alessandro Buongiorno was the latest casualty this week and looks set to miss the season run-in with a groin injury.
“We arrived managing an emergency because everything seems normal, but today (Mathias) Olivera played as a central defender and it’s the first time he does that with me,” Conte said.
“In the end, nobody talks about it, but (David) Neres is out, Buongiorno and Juan Jesus too. (Stanislav) Lobotka got hurt today, I hope he can recover because we are continuing to lose pieces, but we are not giving up.
“And this is the main quality of this team. We are on top of things and we want to continue until the end.”
