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Is Antonio Conte’s Napoli for Real? The Next 4 Games Are a Real Test

Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lecce at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)
Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lecce at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)
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Is Antonio Conte’s Napoli for Real? The Next 4 Games Are a Real Test

Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lecce at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)
Napoli's head coach Antonio Conte gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Lecce at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Antonio Conte's Napoli has been unbeatable since mid-August.

Now comes the real test.

The Serie A leader will travel to the San Siro twice for games at AC Milan and Inter Milan in a space of less than two weeks and also play Atalanta and Roma over its next four matches. The rough stretch starts on Tuesday at Milan.

If Napoli can keep the lead or stay near the top after these four games, the Partenopei will be a serious contender for their second Italian title in three years — an achievement that would improve upon the two "scudetti" in four years that the club won with Diego Maradona in 1987 and 1990.

Having won eight of its last nine matches — interrupted only by a 0-0 draw at Juventus in September — Napoli hasn't lost since getting beaten by Hellas Verona in its Serie A opener on Aug. 18.

"We have amassed the points we needed to," Conte said, "and now it's never a walk in the park to play at the San Siro — whether it's against Inter or Milan."

Since the loss to Verona, Napoli has scored 16 goals and conceded two.

But Conte's side could be challenged by a Milan team that is rested after its match on Saturday was postponed due to flooding in Bologna.

Two key Milan players are suspended, though: Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders.

"Milan is certainly a strong team, who let us not forget was 22 points clear of Napoli last season and invested heavily on the transfer market," Conte said.

Napoli went through 3 different coaches last season

After winning Serie A under Luciano Spalletti in 2023, Napoli went through three different coaches last season when it finished 10th to miss out on Europe.

Conte signed a three-year contract in June and has made an almost immediate impact.

"Antonio is able to get inside the players' heads," said Ciro Ferrara, a former teammate of Conte's at Juventus turned analyst at DAZN. "He's able to extract the best out of his players."

Conte has also been a serial winner as a manager, amassing three Serie A titles at Juventus, Premier League and FA Cup trophies at Chelsea and another Serie A title at Inter Milan. He even guided Bari to the Serie B title before he moved to Juventus.

Lukaku, McTominay and Neres are making an impact

Conte convinced Romelu Lukaku to rejoin him at Napoli after the pair won at Inter and the Belgian striker has filled in well for the departed Victor Osimhen. Another player who has made an immediate impact is midfielder Scott McTominay, who joined in August after playing for Manchester United his entire career.

It was McTominay's header that led to a goal for Giovanni Di Lorenzo in a scrappy 1-0 win over Lecce on Saturday.

Newly signed David Neres has also been a force, giving Napoli more options beyond Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the wings.

Napoli has won its opening five home games at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for only the third time; having also achieved the feat with Maradona himself in 1989 and under Spalletti in 2021.

It's two tough away tests at the San Siro, though, that could give more credence to Napoli's potential.

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Move over Messi and Ronaldo. A New Generation of Soccer Stars Is Lining up to Win the Ballon d'Or

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)
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Move over Messi and Ronaldo. A New Generation of Soccer Stars Is Lining up to Win the Ballon d'Or

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)

No Lionel Messi. No Cristiano Ronaldo.

When the Ballon d'Or is presented at a gala ceremony in Paris on Monday, it will feel like the start of a new era in football. There is also a sense of void now that one of sport's most engrossing rivalries is likely over.

"It's interesting that as it starts to come to an end, we are sort of saying, what's the next equivalent rivalry going to be," soccer author Jonathan Wilson told The Associated Press. "As if that kind of rivalry was a natural state. But there's never been a rivalry like that before."

Messi and Ronaldo won football's most prestigious individual award a combined 13 times over a 16-year period of unprecedented dominance. Neither has been nominated this year.

Instead, Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior is the favorite to be crowned the world's best player and become the first winner born this century.

He underlined his credentials this week with a stunning Champions League hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund.

"Vinicius had an incredible season where he was a key player... he proved he's the best player in the world," Madrid teammate Lucas Vazquez said.

But rather than Vinicius spearheading a new era of dominance, it seems likely the award will revert to a time before Messi and Ronaldo when multiple winners were relatively rare.

France great Zinedine Zidane, for instance, only won it once. The same goes for Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Luis Figo and George Best. Originally limited to European players, it was never won by Pele or Diego Maradona.

Before Messi, the last player to win back-to-back awards was Dutch striker Marco van Basten in 1988 and '89.

Messi won a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or last year after leading Argentina to triumph at the World Cup in 2022. Wilson, who wrote about the history of Argentinian football in his book "Angels With Dirty Faces," sees no obvious successor to the Barcelona great, now at Inter Miami.

"Messi's been phenomenal for 17, 18 years," he said. "It's not a pure tallying process, but in terms of greatness over a protracted period, Messi is the greatest there has ever been by quite some margin.

"I don't think there's anybody in the world now who has anything remotely close to that talent."

Such was the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo, not only would Vinicius Junior become the first winner born this century, but there has never even been a recipient born in the '90s.

Vinicius Junior, whose goals helped Madrid to a record-extending 15th European Cup last season, is part of a new generation of stars that are flourishing as Messi and Ronaldo reach the final stages of their careers.

Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal make up a field of contenders who could challenge for years to come.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri is second favorite to win this year and would become the first player born in the '90s to take the award.

Mbappe, who has long-been seen as the heir to Messi and Ronaldo as the world's best player, was born in 1998, meaning it's likely there will eventually be a winner from that decade even if Rodri misses out.

The only other winners since Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 were Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022. Both were born in the 1980s.

The award was cancelled in 2020, when Robert Lewandowski was widely regarded the best player that year. He was also born in the '80s.

Neymar, born in 1992, came third on two occasions.

The Ballon d'Or was created by France Football magazine and has been awarded since 1956. It is voted for by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Each journalist, one per country, selects 10 players in ranked order, with points attributed to each position. The winner is the player who receives the most points.

The dominance of Messi and Ronaldo in the age of social media has heightened the profile of the award.

Players talk of their dream to win it in a manner they may have spoken about the Champions League and World Cup in the past.

The potential to win it is used during transfer negotiations, with clauses added to contracts stipulating a buying club will pay extra costs if a player goes on to be crowned the best player in the world.

While Vinicius appears to be in pole position this year, Mbappe vs. Haaland has the potential to develop into a new rivalry for the award — particularly given they are strikers for Madrid and Manchester City, respectively, the two best teams in Europe in recent years.

"That whole idea of rivalries and sort of head-to-head, one-v-ones is just such a big part of football now," soccer author Matt Oldfield told The Associated Press. "People want to be able to simplify it to one-v-one, and I think the Mbappe-Haaland debate will be the leading one."

Oldfield writes children's books about football and on visits to schools he gauges the popularity of players among young fans.

His latest series is called "The Football GOAT (greatest of all time)."

The first book in the series centered around Messi and Ronaldo. The next is about Mbappe and Haaland: "We're kind of moving beyond Messi and Ronaldo now," he said.