Conte: Understand De Bruyne s desire to play the whole game, but I made adjustments to win

Football     10:17am, 2 October 2025
In the second round of the Champions League stage, Napoli defeated Portugal 2-1 at home. After the game, coach Conte accepted an interview with Sky Sports. The famous Italian coach first responded to media speculation that he and De Bruyne were incompatible. Previously, De Bruyne showed dissatisfaction with being substituted in a defeat against Milan.

■Rumors about the disagreement with De Bruyne

Conte said: "De Bruyne is different from other new players. He comes from a different environment. He has played in Manchester City for many years and has played at the highest level. I have no criticism of him. He is a good guy and works hard. I understand his desire to play the whole game, but there are always substitutions in the game. I make adjustments to win, and everything is to make the team better. How to discuss it in the media often depends on the results. The most important thing is that everyone must give their all for the team."

■Talking about the team Tactical choice

Conte said: "We have two paths: either continue to use the four-midfield system, which I think is the direction we should stick to, because we still have a lot of room for improvement; either 4-3-3 line up like at the end of tonight's game, and alternately use more confrontational configurations or more technical configurations in midfield personnel selection, where De Bruyne can serve as the left midfielder. Importantly, everyone must sacrifice and give on both ends of offense and defense."

■ Finally, Conte also reviewed his defeat against Milan and his current observation of the team's status.

Conte said: "In my opinion, the performance against Milan did not disappoint me, but the two goals we conceded were situations that we could have handled better. We have discussed how to improve. When facing negative issues, we have to look at them constructively and work hard to solve them."

" It is obvious that if we were two goals behind Milan in San Siro away, it would be difficult to turn the tables. But we took control of the game, and in my opinion, it was a step further than last year. Last season we Win 2-0 in Milan, but the leader of the game is actually Milan. Even at Maradona's home court, we still have risks until the last minute. "

" Today I saw a team that is very mature in game management. But we cannot lose our original traits, that is, aggressiveness and a 'healthy fear'. Because it is this kind of fear that can make you chase back as soon as possible. We strive to press forward, but once we are broken through, we must immediately withdraw our defense."