De Laurentiis admits he’d let Conte become Italy national team coach

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis admits he’d allow Antonio Conte to become the Italy national team coach and backs Giovanni Malagò to become the new FIGC President: ‘The perfect person.’

• Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News and Content – Free Trial – Click Here

Napoli President De Laurentiis admits he’s open to letting Conte leave at the end of the season to become the Italy national team coach.

“If Antonio asked me, I think I’d say yes,” De Laurentiis told reporters (via Gazzetta) in Los Angeles, where the documentary on Napoli’s fourth Scudetto premiered on Monday.

“But given that he [Conte] is very intelligent, until there isn’t a serious interlocutor and, until now, there haven’t been many, he’d resist imagining himself as the chief of something that is entirely disorganised,” ADL added.

Conte has emerged as one of the leading candidates to become the new Italy national team coach.

However, the FIGC won’t hire a replacement for Gennaro Gattuso until the end of June, given that a new President will be elected on June 22.

FIGC President Gabriele Gravina resigned following Italy’s World Cup play-off elimination last week, and so did coach Gattuso.

The Azzurri will play two friendly games in June and will be led by a caretaker coach, likely Silvio Baldini, for those matches.

De Laurentiis also confirmed Giovanni Malagò is his favourite candidate to become the new FIGC President.

“He’s the perfect person to first serve as a commissioner and then as the President of a new Federation,” concluded the Napoli owner.

• Read more – Conte: ‘If I was FIGC President, I would consider me for Italy job’