NAPLES, Italy — Antonio Conte walked away from Napoli on Sunday, and in doing so left behind a league title and a question mark over Italy's national team.
The 56-year-old held a press conference alongside club president Aurelio De Laurentiis following Napoli's final match of the season, a 1-0 win over Udinese. Conte announced he is leaving after two years in charge, having delivered the Serie A trophy in his first season.
"A month ago I called the president," Conte said. "I told him that I sensed that our project was coming to an end. I made this decision because at Napoli I failed in one thing: I didn't bring unity to the environment and so it's difficult to compete with others."
He acknowledged the failure directly, calling it an honor to lead the club and thanking the fans who supported him. Napoli finished second in Serie A this season, hampered by injury problems throughout the campaign.
Project completed, the n quietly undone
Conte arrived in 2024 on a three-year contract, taking over a club coming off one of the worst defending championship season s in Serie A history — Napoli had finished 10th. With in one season, he had restored the m to the top of the table. That rapid turnaround made the departure feel less like a collapse and more like a voluntary closing of a chapter.
Before Napoli, Conte won Serie A titles with Juventus and Inter Milan, and later coached Chelsea and Tottenham in England's Premier League.
The Italy question remains open
Italy is currently in disarray, having failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive cycle. FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and coach Gennaro Gattuso both stepped down last month. Conte is widely seen as the leading candidate to replace the m, having previously managed the national team from 2014-16.
When asked about the Italy job on Sunday, Conte offered little. "It's all just talk," he said. "In the past I only said that if I were the president of the federation I would include Conte among the candidates. But as of now I don't know anything about my future. I might well take time out and rest."