The departure of Conte from Chelsea is thought to be coming imminently, with former Napoli boss Sarri in talks to take over as manager of the FA Cup-winning club.
Dalla Bona played 73 times for Chelsea and then helped Napoli get promoted to Serie A as they were forced to climb the divisions after bankruptcy in 2004.
The 37-year-old was impressed by Sarri’s style of football at Napoli, but ultimately the Partenopei were unable to break through and win a trophy during his three seasons in charge.
“[Sarri] played great football all of the time,” Dalla Bona told Goal. “[Napoli] had a good system but Juventus were able to play a worse style but still win every year.
“I think Sarri needs to make that last step to be a champion and a top coach. He is a great coach but he is not a world class-coach because he hasn’t won anything – that means he isn’t at the top.
“I like to see a good style of football but in the end, if you don’t win but play good football, it doesn’t mean a lot. Juventus don’t play good but win all the time. I knew when Conte was going to Chelsea. I was sure that Conte is a winner and, in fact, he has won two titles and proved it already: the league and FA Cup.
Dalla Bona does not believe Sarri is a natural fit at Chelsea and has questioned whether the environment in London will be conducive to his success.
“If Sarri goes to Chelsea, he hasn’t won anything despite being a good manager. He needs to start winning something,” Dalla Bona said. “I don’t know if he will do it in Chelsea. It is a difficult club to go to right now, even under Roman Abramovich. I think it is difficult for Italians to adapt because you don’t speak the language perfectly.
“For Sarri, at around 60 years old going to London, a change of environment, he speaks a little bit of English but I don’t know if it will be an easy move for him.
“I am not sure about him, I know he is a good manager but I don’t know if he is a good fit for Chelsea. Probably they will ask him to not smoke at Stamford Bridge or Cobham too!
“I had the good fortune of adapting well from Italy to London. I preferred London and English football actually, so it can be done. However, I am not as sure about Sarri at Chelsea. I was more sure about Conte coming to Chelsea because every year he wins something. He had shown the whole world he is a winner already, Sarri hasn’t.”
Sarri led Napoli to a club-record 91 points in Serie A in 2017-18, but it wasn’t enough to win the Scudetto as Juventus got 95 points to win their seventh title in a row.
Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has since announced that Carlo Ancelotti will manage the club next season.
Dalla Bona thinks that Ancelotti is a great appointment by his former club and a statement that they will fight to win the title again next season.
“It has been a real shock because I didn’t expect that De Laurentiis could get Ancelotti,” Dalla Bona added. “Sarri has been in Naples for three years doing very good work but football is strange. I think De Laurentiis knows that now is a time to try and win something so he took one of the top managers in the world.
“De Laurentiis is giving them a great story. He took them from Serie C and now they are always second in the league. For me, it has been great to be part of the story, to win Serie B and score a few goals and then football changes very quickly. I think De Laurentiis needs to be supported because he is trying his best to make the club into a winning team.
“It was unbelievable that they didn’t win the Scudetto. It is only because Juventus is an incredible team. I thought Napoli could win it but in the end it was unbelievable that Juventus won it again. Juve are also a special team. Napoli taking Ancelotti shows Serie A that they really are ready to win something.”
