Article by Daniel Scorpie – Published Saturday, October 25, 2025 23:11 / Updated Sunday, October 26, 2025 01:34
Chivu he did not lose the duel with Conte in the first half from Napleswhen his big misses Inter they spared the champion. And not even after the break, when his players disappeared from the game with the penalty goal scored by Calhanoglu. The Nerazzurri gave the impression tonight that they extended the day off granted by the Romanian coach after returning from Brussels.
The disconnection dictated by Cristi on Thursday caused an inexplicable and unexpected disorder in all compartments and phases of the game, in contrast to the “grinta” in the camp of the hosts in Naples, on the field and on the technical bench.
The European vice-champion took her LLC (Gen Xers know that this is not the commercial abbreviation, but the “reduced working week” of the old regime, with a Saturday off once a month, by rotation) and he played the worst match since the departure of the former, Simone Inzaghi. General opinion also reflected by the Italian press.
The calm Cristi Chivu gave way to the furious Antonio Conte
“Do I have to justify a rest day? It seems normal to me. The best training for a team is rest. Sometimes you need to disconnect, not thinking about the same things all the time. I trust my players and their responsibility”, said Chivu at the press conference, irritated by the journalists' question. Somewhat in opposition to the calm pulse taken by Gazzetta dello Sport on the cover of yesterday's edition and the impression that anger dominates Conte's team, hurt by the mother of beating collected from Man and company.
If he finally did on Friday, explaining that he gave his students a day with their families and children, he must do the same after his third setback of the season. The very light penalty awarded to the home team, even hastily decided by the referee upon reporting the assistant without the necessary verification from the VAR room, is the alibi of losers who refuse to see their weaknesses developed in the second part of the derby on “Diego Maradona”.
In Naples, the difference was made primarily by attitude, even starting from the reactions of the coaches during the match. While Conte was on the springs as we know him, not the sedated Eindhoven, Chivu looked anaesthetized. I don't think the cold is to blame, which made the Italians say of him that he “crawled and was like a rag at the press conference.”
What he didn't convey from the sidelines as body language was reflected on the grass. And the tone of the nerves was given by the captain. After missing two huge chances, Lautaro Martinez remembered his 2021 clash with Antonio and thought he had to pay his bill. Verbal only because the winner was the coach of the Azzurri. The one who was to lose the title in the penultimate stage in Parma, when the same opponent Chivu was well and truly caught up in the worries of relegation.
Fate saved Conte from the 'Kevin De Bruyne' problem
And once again it proved that it is good to avoid the despair of the drowning (of failures). Don't underestimate Napoli's potential, even when they don't have the starting goalkeeper and stopper plus the first two strikers. She even has to manage for three quarters of the match without the star thrown by Pep Guardiola! Only this time, all the bad was for the good of the champion!
Unfortunate chance or, some would say, destiny, saved Conte from the 'De Bruyne' problem. Antonio caught fire on the sideline when he saw Neres take the ball to take the 11-yard shot. He ordered to beat Kevin and the Belgian didn't shake his right to the point of lime, but he absolutely froze immediately afterwards!
The bad luck of the serious injury forced Antonio to reconfigure the system on the fly. And to release the MVP of the last championship, McTominay, from the chains! That's how the Scotsman could play freely when he scored for 2-1. He also surprised the last scorer, Anguissa, the man of the match and one of the best midfielders on his profile in Serie A. Just as the goals naively conceded by Inter shocked.
The defensive chaos of the praised line in the series of seven successes, led by the catastrophic Acerbi, showed badly. The hero in the semi-final of the Champions League with Barcelona was a demon, the 38-year-old stopper not missing a moment even in the failures with Udinese and Juventus.
The coach otherwise adopts the “alone against all” strategy
Few things went right in the Napoli game for Inter's side, and the second half was a tactical failure. With a long team and abandoned by all the milestones and automatisms won in recent weeks, the phase with the goal conceded after a throw-in being emblematic. ANY the changes made could not save the situationlooking like Inter disconnected when they shouldn't have.
Antonio Conte and Cristi Chivu // photo: Imago
When you lose as you lost with Juventus and double the failure with another grande, it is inevitable to diminish your capital of trust and sympathy, which, in the case of foreigners, accumulates with some reluctance. The timing of the defeat against a Scudetto rival is inappropriate, precisely at the beginning of a month in which the Nerazzurri will face AC Milan and Atletico.
And if the Italians were surprised by the speech broken from the everyday language of the coaches, they must have reacted the same way after Chivu took over the Rapid's slogan, “I fight alone against all.” It alludes to the fact that he will never be the type to whine and whine.
As I wrote before, Chivu was not a magician before Conte beat him, just as he is not really a solution after the failure of Cesc Fabregas.
