Last week, there were question marks about the relationship between Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne and Antonio Conte.
The Napoli manager substituted the midfielder in the club’s all-important Serie A clash against AC Milan. This prompted an angry reaction from the Belgian.
This gained a lot of attention in the Italian media. Conte made it clear players should put the team above themselves. De Bruyne responded with a brilliant performance against Sporting in the Champions League.
The arrival from Manchester City also did well in Napoli’s 2-1 win over Genoa. After the game, Conte was asked about the 34-year-old.
He snapped at the question, perhaps feeling the media was fishing for controversy.
Conte said, relayed by Calciomercato.it: “It bothers me when you single out individual players. It’s not nice when you’re talking about others. Both when you praise a player and when you trash him.”
Conte defended the former Manchester City player, urging the media to be more balanced about their judgement.
“We saw it tonight. We need to find balance. I understand it’s difficult in Naples, but we need to try to talk about the team.”
The manager wants to bring the best out of De Bruyne. More than that, he also wants to remove some pressure off his shoulders.
So far this season, the veteran has three goals and two assists in all competitions. While the performance against Milan wasn’t great, his class has been clear to see in the last two games.
It could yet get better. Conte is known to tailor his system to suit the players – as evident from how he used Scott McTominay. As weeks go by, De Bruyne’s rise at Napoli will be interesting to see.