Antonio Conte wants the Super Cup. And he calls for patience with Lukaku

Antonio Conte spoke in a press conference on the eve of Napoli-Milan, the first semifinal of the Italian Super Cup, scheduled for Thursday evening at 8 p.m. Italian time at the”Al-Awwal Park Stadium’ in Riyadh. “We came from five wins, now we have lost two in a row– he began -. The important thing is to keep working with seriousness, desire, determination and enthusiasm, which is the best thing. We play every three days, we have to be good at handling both wins and losses. It always comes down to work”.

Luca Giorgetti

The Azzurri coach can count on the full recovery of Stanislav Lobotka, who is ready to return from the first minute in midfield in the challenge against the Rossoneri: “He played half an hour in Udine, he did not have a particularly serious problem. He is ready to play, but it doesn&#8217t go to change very much because that leaves him and McTominay as holding central midfielders. Elmas is good at adapting, but we also have to respect his characteristics. We will go ahead with the system employed lately, which in any case enhances a little bit’ the whole squad”.

He then shed light on Romelu Lukaku, who returned to training with the group this week after a four-month layoff due to a high-grade rectus femoris injury in his left thigh. “He doesn&#8220t even have a few minutes in his legs, we have to be patient and wait for him – admitted the coach of the Italian champions’It&#8217s certainly good that he is back in the group because of his experience, charisma and personality. We will need physical tests to see when he can return without danger of relapse”.

On the Super Cup format: “It is a good experience for me and for the boys. It is the first time I have experienced it and I want to experience it well, giving everything and hoping to extend our stay in Arabia until Monday. To find Napoli fans here in Riyadh as well is a good feeling. The more the club goes abroad the more it becomes known and can broaden its audience. The fan, however, approaches teams based on the victories they get, we aim to be more and more attractive from this point of view”.

Closing on Milan: “When you meet teams with Milan, you know that you will be facing great players and great coaches. On the part of everyone there&#8217s a desire to measure themselves and test their level. Plus we are playing for a trophy, this is an extra emotional boost. Everyone likes to win, we always want to seek victory, trying to deserve it on the field”.