ROME (AP) — Win and then move on to the next challenge.
Antonio Conte never seems to stay too long in one place and now the fiery coach appears ready to leave Napoli less than a year after guiding the southern club to its fourth Serie A title.
Conte is openly campaigning for the vacant Italy job after the Azzurri failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup. Such a move would mark a return for Conte, who already coached Italy at the European Championship a decade ago.
“If I were the federation president I would consider myself,” Conte said after Napoli’s 1-0 victory over AC Milan on Monday. “I’ve already been with the national team and I know what it’s like.”
Currently, though, the Italian soccer federation has only a lame duck president after Gabriele Gravina announced that he is resigning, with new elections called for June 22.
Gennaro Gattuso, who coached Italy in the World Cup qualifying playoff loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina, also resigned.
In the meantime, Conte can focus on Napoli’s late-season surge after leapfrogging Milan into second place with a visit to Parma coming up on Sunday.
Still, Napoli trails Italian league leader Inter Milan by seven points with seven rounds remaining and Conte is not expecting another title.
“It’s not a question of believing or not; it’s about being realistic,” Conte said. “We would have to be perfect and Inter would have to make several missteps. And from what we’ve seen, that seems unlikely because Inter is strong.”
If Conte does leave Napoli, it would follow similar exits immediately after or soon after titles at Bari (he left immediately after a Serie B title in 2009), Juventus (he left immediately after winning a third straight Serie A title in 2014), Chelsea (he left immediately after winning the FA Cup in 2018 and a year after a Premier League title) and Inter (he left immediately after a Serie A title in 2021).
Key matchups
Inter visits neighboring Como on Sunday for its shortest trip of the season.
Inter’s Appiano Gentile training center north of Milan is located less than 20 kilometers (slightly more than 10 miles) from Como’s Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. That’s about half as far as the trip from Appiano Gentile to the San Siro.
While Inter routed Como 4-0 December, Como held Inter to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals last month at the Sinigaglia. The second leg is scheduled for April 21.
Inter’s 5-2 thrashing of Roma last weekend marked its first victory since February. Meanwhile, Cesc Fabregas’ Como is unbeaten for nearly two months and is looking to hold on to fourth place and the final Champions League berth.
Players to watch
Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu produced one of the goals of the season against Roma with a 30-meter (yard) blast that dipped in under the bar. It was his ninth Serie A goal of the season, to go with three assists. He also recently helped Turkey qualify for its first World Cup since 2002.
Out of action
Juventus center forward Dusan Vlahovic will miss another three weeks with an injured calf muscle after only recently recovering from another muscular injury that occurred in November.
Vlahovic’s injury issues could affect his contract negotiations with Juventus, which is offering a brief extension at a reduced salary.
Off the field
Asked for solutions to the national team’s problems, Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti suggested requiring every Serie A club to use at least one Italian under-19 player in its starting lineup.
Spalletti was fired as Italy coach last year after the Azzurri lost their opening qualifier to Norway.
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