Conte to De Laurentiis: “Absolutely NOT.” And then he gave Inter the respect we earned

Napoli tried to squeeze a season’s worth of frustration into one post-match press conference. Antonio Conte basically grabbed the mic and said: not today.

Aurelio De Laurentiis went first, with the line we’ve all heard a thousand times from teams who finish behind the best side. “Without injuries, we easily would have won the league again.”

Conte’s answer was instant. Cold. Perfect. “Absolutely NOT.”

That’s the moment the whole thing flipped from the usual chairman-noise into something I actually enjoyed listening to. Because Conte didn’t just disagree — he redirected the entire conversation straight at Inter.

He said credit has to be given to Inter. He said we’re a great team. He even pointed to the progress: Champions League final last year, even better this year, and — the key part — we deserved to win.

De Laurentiis wasn’t having it. He tried a little jab anyway: “Inter is such a great team, that in Europe they did WORSE than last year.”

Conte didn’t blink. “Well, they did better than us. They went further than we did.”

And there it is. That’s what I’m going to remember from this clip.

Not Napoli’s excuses. Not the chairman’s little digs. The part where a title-winning coach — in front of his own president — refused to hide behind the injury card and basically said: show some respect.

Conte even doubled down on the principle. He said he doesn’t like “clinging” to these things, that if you want respect you have to give it, and that Inter deserved the league with injuries or not.

From an Inter point of view, it lands in a very satisfying way. Because it’s not praise wrapped in sarcasm. It’s praise that sounds like someone who’s watched you up close and knows exactly how hard you are to shift.

And while all that was happening, the rest of Serie A was delivering its own kind of comedy.

Both Milan and Juventus will miss out on Champions League football next season, with the final-day shake-up leaving them outside the top four.

So yes — picture the scene for a second.

Napoli arguing about hypotheticals at a podium. Milan and Juve looking at Thursday-night trips. And Inter sitting at the top of the league, getting publicly credited by the one guy in Italy who never hands out compliments for free.

I’ll take it. Every time.