Juan Jesus: ‘Napoli must never let our guard down again’

Brazilian defender Juan Jesus has praised Napoli’s defensive improvements and revealed how head coach Antonio Conte has instilled a winning attitude into the side.

Speaking to Radio CRC, with quotes via Alfredo Pedulla’s website, Jesus said that “If a team defends as a unit, it becomes much easier for the back line. We take responsibility for the mistakes we made two years ago, we are not hiding, but those mistakes helped us grow and taught us that we can never let our guard down again.”

Jesus played 15 times in Serie A for Napoli last season and wore the captain’s armband in the club’s 3-1 Coppa Italia defeat to Lazio.

Napoli boss ‘Conte never backs down’

The radio station asked Jesus about his thoughts on the club’s pre-season so far: “I’m happy to be here in Castel di Sangro – I’ve been coming for several years now. Maybe it is surprising to some who didn’t know me well or didn’t think I would stay this long but I know my own qualities and what I had to offer.”

Jesus was complimentary of former Napoli head coach Luciano Spalletti, who spent two years at the club between 2021 and 2023: “The first person to believe in me was Spalletti. Without him, I would not have made history at Napoli. Now Conte is here and I know I have his trust. I’m proud to have spent much time here and to have won two Scudetti. Hopefully, we can continue writing history together.”

On Spalletti, Jesus added that “With him, I think I played 18 or 19 league matches since he rotated a lot with Kim, Rrahmani and also Østigard. Last year, with Buongiorno’s injury I had more opportunities and was able to give my all.”

Antonio Conte has been at Napoli since last summer with Jesus describing the head coach as having “a very specific method and he teaches you to never give up. Given his career and personality, he has always been someone who never backs down and pushes us to give 100%. You can see that on the pitch.”