Antonio Conte has never been shy about his own ambitions. On Monday night, after Napoli’s tight 1-0 win over Milan, he said out loud what many in Italy were already thinking: his name belongs in the conversation to become Azzurri coach again.
“It’s expected that my name appears on the list of candidates for the national team,” Conte said. “If I was the federation’s president, I would consider my name. But, you know my contractual situation, I’ll meet with my president at the end of the season and we will see.”
That president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has now answered. And he did not slam the door.
De Laurentiis opens the exit, with conditions
Speaking to Calcionapoli24, the Napoli owner made it clear he would not stand in Conte’s way if the coach pushed to return to the national team.
“If Conte asked me to allow him to become the national team coach again, I would say yes,” De Laurentiis said.
No posturing. No public power play. For a relationship that has already known tension, it was a strikingly open stance.
Conte is under contract with Napoli until 2027 and only last season delivered the Scudetto, dragging the club to the title in his typically relentless style. Yet the partnership has always felt volatile. He came close to leaving last summer after a fallout with De Laurentiis, and Napoli now sit seven points behind Serie A leaders Inter with seven games left. The project is still alive, but far from serene.
The national team, though, is in a deeper crisis.
Italy in disarray, Conte in the frame
Gennaro Gattuso walked away on Friday, resigning as Italy coach after failing to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time. Twenty years on from their last global title, the four-time champions find themselves stuck in a cycle of disappointment and introspection.
Gattuso’s departure came just 24 hours after Gabriele Gravina resigned as president of the Italian football federation. The top job is vacant. The bench is vacant. The whole structure feels exposed.
Conte has been here before. He led Italy between 2014 and 2016, taking a limited squad to the Euro 2016 quarter-finals and pushing Germany to a penalty shootout before bowing out. His brief spell restored edge and identity to the national side, and his name has never really left the conversation whenever the Azzurri wobble.
This time, the timing is complicated. He is tied to Napoli, still chasing Inter in the league, still formally committed until 2027. And the federation, as De Laurentiis pointed out, currently has no president.
“But as he’s very intelligent, as long as there’s no [federation] president, and up to now there hasn’t been, I don’t think he sees himself in charge of something so disorganised,” De Laurentiis added.
That line cut to the heart of the situation. Conte is a coach who demands control, clarity, structure. Italy, right now, offer none of that.
A decision parked – for now
Conte has already signposted his timeline. Talks with De Laurentiis will come at the end of the season. Napoli’s run-in, and their final position relative to Inter, will shape the mood of those discussions. So will the pace at which the federation rebuilds after Gravina.
For the moment, all the pieces sit on the table. Italy need a strong hand and a sharp mind. Conte, still only in his mid-50s, has unfinished business at international level. And a club president who once clashed with him is now publicly saying he would let him go.
The question is no longer whether Conte is a candidate. It is how long he can resist the pull of the Azzurri, and whether Napoli’s project is strong enough to keep him anchored in the south when the national call finally comes.
