Napoli market, David Luiz had said yes to Conte: what happened next

Calciomercato Napoli: David Luiz could have been another of the world soccer bigwigs in the Azzurri shirt, along with Romelu Lukaku, Scott McTominay and that Kevin de Bruyne who has since joined the Italian champions in the last summer market window. Admitting this was the experienced and highly emblazoned Brazilian defender himself, explaining that Antonio Conte himself had tried to take him back to a team of his own and re-embrace him in Italy after coaching him at Chelsea. And the’market hypothesis represented more than just a suggestion, then faded for a reason as specific as inevitable.

Marco Enzo Venturini

“When Conte and I were together at Chelsea we argued all the time, but then we wanted to achieve the same results – revealed David Luiz, interviewed by ‘Sky Sport’ -I was even convinced that for years he was mad at me, that he was angry. But then we won the Premier League and FA Cup together. And before my return to Europe he wanted me to join him at Napoli. He said he needed a player like me, intense and crazy. But then I couldn’t go there because I didn’t have a European passport. And they unfortunately at that time could not take a non-EU player”.

David Luiz, who won everything in Europe wearing the shirts of Benfica, PSG, Chelsea and Arsenal, returned to his homeland in 2021 playing for Flamengo first and then Fortaleza. “There&#8217s the pandemic, so I decided to go play in Brazil to be closer to my family” he admitted. Last August 3, however, here was the move to Cyprus in some sensational ways: “They called me from Pafos, proposing to do something together. I inquired about the team, the club, the prospects even after my retirement. And already from the moment I arrived, I immediately realized how much passion there is for soccer in the city”.

A great pity, also in view of the problems Napoli is facing in the season in which it is trying to confirm the Scudetto it won in the last championship. On the point, Conte has been speaking clearly for weeks: the blanket, according to his judgment, is short. “It will be a very close league, with many strong teams. Difficult after 13 days to draw up a ranking, in fact we are all there. Our goal is to defend the scudetto, but it is very difficult because there are beautiful, equipped and strong teams. Then may the best win”, admise to the awards at the Grand Gala of Football.

“There&#8217s little to say, at the beginning of the year when you have so many competitions you worry about making a roster that is up to it. If then, for external reasons, this rose is still reduced you can hold your own, but in the end something has to be paid. Otherwise we would all be phenomena” said Conte instead in mid-December after his Napoli team&#8217s knockout with Udinese.