FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Serie A - Napoli v Bologna - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy - August 25, 2024 Napoli coach Antonio Conte inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Ciro De Luca/File Photo
(Reuters) - Antonio Conte is looking forward to his return to Juventus as Napoli's manager this weekend and said he was proud of his role in the Turin club's history after leading them to multiple Serie A titles.
As a player, Conte won Serie A five times with Juventus as well as the Champions League while as a manager he kickstarted their nine-year reign as champions of the Italian top flight with three titles between 2011-12 to 2013-14.
The last time Conte travelled to Turin as the opposing team's manager was in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic with no fans in the stadium, where his Inter Milan side lost at the end of the season with the title already won.
"My past is clear, 13 years at Juve as a player, I was captain for several years, winning practically everything. I had the opportunity to coach for three years, starting a series of nine Scudetti," Conte said.
"I am part of Juve's history because of what I've done and given them. It's easier to stay at one club your entire career... but as a coach it's impossible to decide your own career. I coached Juve for three years, my career took me to different places.
"Today I have the true pleasure of coaching a team like Napoli. For me, being someone from the south, it is a proud and satisfying feeling. There will be lots of emotions returning to that stadium, because last time I returned during COVID."
Napoli are second in the standings behind leaders Udinese while Juve are fourth, a point behind Conte's side.
Juve are managed by Thiago Motta, who played under Conte in the Italy national team and got the job in Turin after leading Bologna to fifth last season, which saw them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.
"Thiago Motta takes on a heavy legacy... It's not a trivial thing to coach there, there is a demand for victory, like at AC Milan or Inter," Conte said.
"He was a player of mine with the national team at the European Championships. He makes me smile, but it also saddens me a bit because I'm getting old," he added with a laugh.
"He did very well in Bologna and so I wish him the best from a human point of view, but not in the games against us."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
