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Topics: Football, Kevin De Bruyne, Antonio Conte, Napoli, Serie A
James Taylor
Topics: Football, Kevin De Bruyne, Antonio Conte, Napoli, Serie A
Antonio Conte has made it clear to Kevin De Bruyne what will happen if he does not heed his warning.
After 10 trophy-laden years with Manchester City, de Bruyne made the switch to join Conte's Napoli in the summer. Although the Italian champions have won four of their opening five league games, the team is yet to see the best of their new Belgian midfielder.
Conte's hope will be that he is able to bring out the best in the 34-year-old and help Napoli compete for more silverware. The former Inter Milan, Spurs and Chelsea manager is known for imposing strict nutritional rules on his players.
At Chelsea, he banned fizzy drinks, pizza, ketchup and brown sauce, while balsamic vinegar and olive oil replaced salt and pepper. During his time at Spurs, ketchup and mayonnaise were removed from the menu.
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Although they have been successful, Conte's methods have often led to conflicts with players.
At Chelsea, Diego Costa was removed from the squad, and received a blunt text from Conte: "Hi Diego, I hope you are well. Thanks for the season we spent together. Good luck for the next year but you are not in my plan."
David Luiz also clashed with Conte while at Chelsea, and he later suggested that he would have left Stamford Bridge had Conte remained in charge.
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At Inter Milan, the controversial Mauro Icardi was sidelined and the Argentine eventually sued the club for discrimination.
He claimed £1.38 million in damages and wanted a return to the first-team setup.
At Tottenham Hotspur, Conte never warmed to Tanguy Ndombele, who had cost £63 million .
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Conte demanded that the Frenchman work harder for the team rather than just playing for himself.
After being booed off in an FA Cup game against Morecambe, Ndombele never played for Spurs again.
Conte also publicly criticised the whole Spurs team in an extraordinary press conference.
In March 2023, after Spurs surrendered a two-goal lead in the final 16 minutes, he hit out at his "selfish players" that did not want to play "under pressure."
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It is clear that while Conte has a record of winning trophies, his style often leads to disputes with players that can risk losing the dressing room.
Having won the league title in his first season at Napoli, de Bruyne will hope that he can instead lead the team to more silverware.
Napoli return to action on Wednesday in the Champions League, when they take on Sporting CP.