New Napoli signing Kevin de Bruyne has pointed out the key difference between his new manager, Antonio Conte and his former boss at Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Afrosport reports.
The 34-year-old Belgian midfielder joined the Partenopei on a free transfer after failing to renew his contract at City, ending his 10-year association with the club, where he won 16 titles.
He now unites with Conte, who was previously in charge of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur and had a bit of a history with Guardiola during his time in England.
Guardiola is known for his emphasis on ball possession, while Conte is keen to see his players have character, which De Bruyne also agrees with.
“I’d say that they have two different ways of playing. Pep is probably a little more attentive to ball control and possession, while Conte is a little more structured in the game and focuses a lot on mentality. Pep works more on space,” De Bruyne told Corriere dello Sport.
“There are a couple of different things, but each coach has their own principles and characteristics.
“At the moment, we haven’t focused much on the personal aspects. We’re working for the team. He gives us collective instructions for everyone’s positions. We’ll probably talk about more specific things later.”
Napoli are the reigning Serie A champions, having secured the Scudetto by one point ahead of Inter Milan last season. De Bruyne is hoping to have his name attached to it for the upcoming campaign.
“Probably the Scudetto, but I never want to choose,” he added when asked which title he would prefer to win.
“l’ll take whatever I can win. Having never played in Italy, though, the league championship would be a good goal, that would be very cool. But it hasn’t started yet, so we’ll see.”
Second game, first win! 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/efbvlnNkqS
— Kevin De Bruyne (@KevinDeBruyne) July 26, 2025
Napoli will begin the 2025-26 Serie A season away at newly-promoted Sassuolo on August 23.
