Jose Mourinho Delivers Honest Verdict On Napoli And Antonio Conte

Benfica manager Jose Mourinho has spoken at length about Napoli and Antonio Conte ahead of the two fiery managers renewing acquaintances in the Champions League.

Jose Mourinho admits Antonio Conte’s Napoli are a “very strong team”

Jose Mourinho’s Benfica play host to Antonio Conte’s Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

And both sides have a lot of work to do in the competition if they are to guarantee themselves a spot in the knockout stages.

Napoli arrive at the Estádio da Luz with seven points from five games, sitting 20th in the Champions League table.

Meanwhile, Benfica are all the way down in 30th spot, though their last game in the competition ended in a win.

Samuel Dahl and Leandro Barreiro scored in the 2-0 win over Ajax to boost Benfica’s hopes of reaching this season’s knockout phase.

Mourinho and Conte haven’t exactly seen eye to eye over the years, but the Portuguese had some kind words to say about his counterpart.

“I don’t know if it will be an advantage or not to know how Italian teams play,” Mourinho told reporters at his pre-match press conference, as per Sky Sports.

“Perhaps I spend less time analyzing them. This doesn’t mean their difficulties are less or that their qualities are less.

“They’re a very strong team; they’ve won two league titles in a short space of time.

“Unfortunately for us, they play differently than they did at the start of the season. I like the way they play now much better.”

Jose Mourinho says Antonio Conte is “one of the strongest coaches”

Mourinho then elaborated on why Conte is such a difficult manager to face.

“Antonio’s teams are complete,” he continued. “It’s practically impossible to find something they don’t do well and try to develop something by exploiting weaknesses.

“They are teams with extremely high compactness and tactical awareness.

“Antonio is also extremely demanding on the transfer market; he always finds a way to build very strong squads with players who give him many options.

“In terms of team preparation, he’s one of the strongest coaches.”

Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte: A history of clashes

Mourinho and Conte are two of the game’s most passionate managers and, as such, have had their fair share of clashes in the past.

Their previous feud ignited at Stamford Bridge in October 2016, when Conte’s Chelsea thrashed Mourinho’s Manchester United 4-0.

Mourinho was not happy with Conte’s animated attempts to whip up the home crowd.

The Portuguese seemingly accused his opposite number of trying to “humiliate” United with his celebrations.

A month later, Conte expressed disbelief at how Victor Moses was overlooked at Chelsea as he transformed him into a right wing-back.

In his four years at the club, Moses had been loaned to Stoke, Liverpool and West Ham without getting a look in under Mourinho.

The tension carried into the FA Cup quarter-final in March 2017, a 1-0 Chelsea win.

Conte raged at what he felt were Mourinho’s attempts to rough up Eden Hazard, and Ander Herrera’s red card only added fuel.

From there, the feud moved to the microphones: Mourinho mocked “clowns on the touchline”.

Conte hit back by calling him “a little man”, while Mourinho referenced Conte’s past touchline ban in Italy.

The 2018 FA Cup final remains the last time they shared the touchline. This proved a more diplomatic affair compared to what had happened prior.

They shook hands ahead of kick-off and then embraced at the full-time whistle.

Will the fireworks reignite when Mourinho and Conte face off again on Wednesday night?