Serie A

CONTE AND SPALLETTI’S FIRST DANCE

At the Maradona, an unprecedented showdown awaits between two masters of Italian football: parallel careers, near misses, and a date that feels steeped in history.

A first meeting with an epic feel

The upcoming six-pointer at the Maradona gives Italian football something it has never witnessed before: Antonio Conte and Luciano Spalletti – two of the most influential Italian coaches of the past 20 years – will be in the opposite dugouts for the first time. It feels counter-intuitive, almost absurd, when you consider the influence they’ve had on the game in Italy and abroad over the past two decades.
Their careers, full of indirect intersections, have always run on parallel tracks, almost in sync, yet their paths have never converged on the pitch. Spalletti has clocked up 559 Serie A matches in the dugout, Conte 250, so the absence of a direct contest between them remains one of the more baffling gaps in our league’s history books.

Two careers chasing each other without ever colliding

A first encounter did occur, but only from a distance: Roma vs. Siena in 2005, with Spalletti in charge of Roma and Conte serving as De Canio’s assistant at Siena. A meeting of glances, not of tactical minds. When Conte took over at Atalanta, Spalletti had already left Roma after matchday 2 – another near miss. Then, their paths diverged, yet in a strangely complementary way. Spalletti began his Russian adventure at Zenit, enjoying great success, while Conte rewrote Juventus history with the 102-point Scudetto. By the time the Tuscan tactician returned to Italy for a second spell at Roma, Conte had already moved on to Chelsea.

Spalletti was then appointed by Inter, and in the summer of 2017 the two actually directly faced each other on the sidelines for the first and only time, but this was during a friendly between the Nerazzurri and the Blues.
Luciano brought Champions League football to Inter before passing the baton to Conte, who built on that foundation to deliver the 2021 Scudetto.

Another twist of fate separated them once more: Spalletti returned to Italy to make history with Napoli, leading them to the Scudetto in 2023, while Conte experienced Premier League football again with Tottenham. Luciano then became Italy’s head coach, while Conte followed a path that led him back to Serie A, this time in Naples.

Past connections, cherished grounds

Their parallel destinies extend to the teams they have both coached: Italy, Inter, Napoli, and now Juventus. Spalletti recently arrived at Continassa, stepping into a home that had once been a second skin for Conte – first as a captain, then as the figure who took Juventus back to Scudetto glory.
In Naples, Spalletti became a popular hero with his 2023 triumph, a bond both tattooed on his arm and engraved in the hearts of the fans. As an opponent against the Azzurri, his record reads six wins, five draws and four defeats across 15 matches, with the last two encounters taking place when he was in charge of Inter in 2018/19 (a 1-0 defeat and 4-1 loss).
Conte, by contrast, has come up against Juventus eight times (two wins, one draw, five defeats). With Napoli last year, his side earned a 0-0 draw in Turin and secured a precious 2-1 victory at the Maradona.

Yildiz vs. Neres: two dangermen

Plenty of eyes will be on Kenan Yildiz and David Neres, the men of the moment for the two rivals. Juventus’ No. 10 and Napoli’s No. 7 are ready to take centre stage with their attacking flair and match-changing ability.

Yildiz, born in 2005, is among the youngest in Europe with at least 20 goal contributions in 2025 (13 goals, 8 assists). Across the five biggest European leagues, only Lamine Yamal and Désiré Doué are younger. In Serie A Enilive, no one has had a bigger impact at home – seven goal contributions, with four goals and three assists – but the Turk is still yet to really shine away from the Stadium. Spalletti has placed him at the heart of his tactical project, and his second brace in the Italian top flight last time out against Cagliari – following his first against Inter last season – cemented his status as a rising leader.

For Napoli, meanwhile, Neres has regained both sharpness and consistency: he’s scored in two consecutive games (against Atalanta and Roma) for the first time since February 2024, and has bagged three goals and registered two assists across the Partenopei’s last six outings. Conte’s new system, featuring a front three, brings out his pace and game-changing ability. In the big clashes against Inter, Atalanta and Roma, he was one of Napoli’s most influential players, symbolising a quicker, more direct approach. (Photo LaPresse + Getty Images)