Napoli chief says squad stronger than title-winners
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis believes that Antonio Conte's current squad is stronger than the one that lifted the Scudetto in 2024-2025.
The Partenopei have started their Serie A title defence with 28 points from 13 matches, leaving them second in the table on goal difference, behind AC Milan.
Conte has repeatedly complained about the lack of options in his squad amid an injury crisis, and has always played down Napoli's chances of winning the title in 2025-2026.
De Laurentiis, however, took a different view, saying at the Gran Gala del Calcio awards: "I am convinced that this Napoli team is stronger than last season.
"The new players need to be made to fall in love with the jersey, but these setbacks allowed them to show their capabilities.
"I am convinced we'll continue to have a great season, but we must also consider there are 20 teams, so we've got to respect the others too.
"It's going to be a fascinating campaign, we are all up there."
Napoli will be in action this Thursday in the Coppa Italia against Cagliari, with a place in the quarter-finals of the competition up for grabs.
But this is a stage that they have often struggled at, with Napoli failing to go beyond the last 16 in the last four seasons, bowing out to Lazio in 2024-2025.
Indeed, the last time Napoli won the Coppa Italia was in 2019-2020, when it beat Juventus 4-2 on penalties in the final, after a goalless draw in normal time.
However, Napoli's early exit from last season's competition allowed full focus to be placed on the league, with the club also not involved in any European competition.
Conte, who was named Serie A's 2025 Coach of the Year on Monday, lauded his players for their displays, but again relayed the difficulty of defending the Scudetto.
"Last season's Scudetto was hard-fought, we wanted it with all our strength, knowing we needed to do something extraordinary to beat a team of champions like Inter," he said.
"We did well to stay in the slipstream, also thanks to their Champions League commitments.
"We started to believe as time wore on, and the lads were truly extraordinary in doing something special. It is going to be a battle, as there are many strong teams in the running.
"It's difficult to make predictions after 13 rounds, as we are all up there.
"Our objective is to defend the Scudetto, but it's very tough because there are many strong and well-built teams. May the best team win."
