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Tag: Antonio Conte

  • New Inter Boss Antonio Conte promises to deliver

     

    Former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has been appointed head coach at Inter Milan and the club chose to unveil him with a bizarre video.

    The 49-year-old has finally returned to management having been sacked by the Blues at the end of the 2017-18 season.

    Inter chose to make the announcement on Friday morning with a strange short film that they posted on their Twitter account.

    It begins with some ominous music and then cuts to Conte sitting in the back of a car as he is driven through the city of Milan.

    ‘Finally, it’s time to get back to it. I have many reasons to do so, perhaps even too many,’ Conte says over the top of the journey through Milan.

    ‘And just as many challenges are ahead of me I can’t wait. With its fans who will be wondering why me exactly? ‘Because we share the same ambitions, fearlessness, hunger and determination. Now it’s my turn.’

    Inter Chief Steven Zhang then appears on screen and looks out of his office window to see Conte’s car pull up and the door open.

    The screen then turns black before Conte says: ‘I’m here, Inter’ as the video comes to an end.

    Conte spent two years at Stamford Bridge, winning the Premier League in his first season and the FA Cup in his final match in charge in May 2018.

    The Italian replaces the sacked Luciano Spalletti at the San Siro after the Nerazzurri finished fourth in Serie A this season, 21 points behind champions Juventus.

    Ex-Italy boss Conte will be charged with closing the gap on his former side, which he led to three league titles in three seasons as manager between 2011 and 2014.

    ‘A new chapter in my life is beginning, I’m really excited,’ said Conte on Inter’s official website following the announcement.

    ‘Through my work, I’ll try to repay all of the trust that the president and directors have placed in me.

    ‘I have chosen Inter because of the club it is, because of the project’s sound basis and how ambitious it is. Because of Inter has got  history.

    ‘I was struck by the club’s transparency and the desire to bring Inter back to where it belongs.’

     

     

     

     

     

  • Conte is new Inter Milan manager

    Inter Milan have appointed former Juventus and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, the club announced Friday.

    Conte replaces Luciano Spalletti, who was sacked earlier this week after two seasons with the club.

    The Nerazzurri finished fourth in the Serie A standings on the final day of the season thanks to a 2-1 win over Empoli, qualifying for the Champions League.

    Conte is also reunited with highly regarded former Juventus chief executive Beppe Marotta. The pair worked closely together to lead Juventus to three consecutive league titles between 2011 and 2014 before Conte left to manage Italy and then Chelsea, where he won the Premier League title in his first season and ended his second with triumph in the FA Cup.

    “A new chapter in my life is beginning, I’m really excited,” Conte said in a statement on Inter’s website. “I have chosen Inter because of its history. I was struck by the club’s transparency and the desire to bring Inter back to where it belongs.”

    Conte has been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea last summer, due in large part to a lengthy and acrimonious legal battle that ended this month with a Premier League manager’s arbitration tribunal ruling in his favour.

    Read Also: Victor Moses may join Conte at Inter

    Chelsea have been ordered to pay Conte around £9 million — the amount owed for the final unfulfilled year of his contract at Stamford Bridge — and the Italian, now free to resume his career, has returned to Serie A.

    Conte’s blend of touchline passion and winning tactics made him hugely popular with the majority of Chelsea supporters, but his relationship with the board became damaged beyond repair, highlighted by his repeated public and private complaints about transfer policy.

    He also clashed with Diego Costa and David Luiz, while others began to grow weary of his methods. In the wake of Chelsea’s FA Cup win in 2018, Willian obscured Conte in a team celebration photograph posted on his Instagram account.

    Conte’s refusal to resign unless the final year of his contract was paid in full, coupled with Chelsea’s delay in securing Maurizio Sarri from Napoli as his replacement, created an ugly public standoff that resulted in him leading the first few days of preseason before being sacked on July 13.

    Chelsea withheld Conte’s compensation, claiming that several of his actions — including his decision to inform Costa by text message that he was no longer in his plans — had led him to breach his contract.

    Meanwhile, sources have told ESPN FC that Conte argued that Chelsea’s delay in sacking him resulted in him missing out on potential job opportunities elsewhere, with Paris Saint-Germain appointing Thomas Tuchel and Real Madrid turning to Julen Lopetegui prior to his departure.

    ESPN

  • Antonio Conte demands £9m for Inter Milan top job

     

    Former Chelsea coach Antonio Conte is willing to take over the reins at Inter Milan on the proviso they make him the highest paid manager in the Serie A.

    Conte, 49, is on the lookout for a new job after sitting out this season following his sacking by Chelsea in the summer.

    The Italian has been linked with several top clubs but Inter are stepping up their interest in the former Juventus and Italy manager.

    Inter president Steven Zhang has reportedly told general manager Beppe Marotta to bring Conte to the San Siro at all costs.

    However, Conte has doubts about returning to Italy after enjoying his two-year spell in England so is making hefty demands.

    Conte is demanding to be paid a £9million annual salary after tax which would make him the highest earner among his Serie A managerial rivals.

    If Inter give Conte what he wants then he would earn £2.5m more than Juventus’ Massimiliano Allegri, who is currently Serie A’s highest-paid manager.

    Inter will have to shell out £21.5m if they are to sack current boss Luciano Spalletti.

    Spalletti, whose current deal runs out in 2021, could lose his job despite his side being in third spot with seven games to go.  Despite their league position, Inter are 27 points behind league leaders Juventus. Conte who handled the Italian national team from 2014 to 2016 coached Juventus for two years just before taking over the national team. He has coached eight club sides with Chelsea as the only one outside Italy.

    While at Chelsea he became the first manager in history to win three consecutive Premier League Manager of the Month awards (October, November and December) in 201

    On 12 May 2017, Conte’s Chelsea side defeated West Bromwich Albion 1–0 away, with a late goal from substitute Michy Batshuayi, and secured the points required to win the 2016–17 Premier League title with two matches to spare.

    On 19 May 2018, Conte led Chelsea to a 1–0 victory over Manchester United in the 2018 FA Cup Final.

  • Conte set to replace Gatuso at AC Milan

     

    Former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will reportedly be announced as the successor to AC Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso, who is set to be sacked.

    Conte left Chelsea earlier this month after two seasons at the club, despite winning the Premier League title and the FA Cup during his time in England.

    Former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri has been named as the new Blues head coach, after leaving the Serie A club four points off a first Scudetto in 28 years last season.

    Meanwhile, Gattuso led Milan to a solid 6th-placed finish alongside European football last campaign, but Radio Kiss Kiss reports that the availability of Conte has tempted the club to part ways with their current coach.

    Conte already has managerial experience in Italy, having won three Scudettos and two Supercoppa Italianas in a three year stint with Juventus.

    Meanwhile Alisher Usmanov is on the verge of selling his 30% stake in Arsenal after giving up hope of taking majority control of the club.

    The Uzbekistan-born billionaire has made a number of attempts to buy out majority shareholder Stan Kroenke in the past, but the American turned down a $1.3bn (£991m) offer for his 67% stake in the club.

    Kroenke has insisted that his shares in the Premier League outfit are not for sale, and the Financial Times reports that Usmanov has now given up hope of changing his mind.

    The metalworks magnate is reportedly actively looking for buyers, but will refuse to sell his stake to Kroenke, who made a £525m offer for his 30% last summer.

    Usmanov and Kroenke are understood to have disagreed over the direction of the club in recent years, with Usmanov claiming last summer that his presence was required to “protect the best interest of the fans in the club”.

  • EPL: Moses strike gives Chelsea win at Burnley

    Nigerian Striker, Victor Moses, struck a 69th-minute winner for his Chelsea to give Antonio Conte’s side a 2-1 Premier League victory over Burnley at Turf Moor on Thursday.

    Chelsea had taken a 20th-minute lead through a Kevin Long own goal and was well in control of the game.

    However, Burnley drew level when Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s low drive went in off Burnley striker Ashley Barnes.

    But the Blues restored their lead when a cross from the left by Emerson reached Moses at the back post and he took his time before firing past Nick Pope.

    The win moved fifth-placed Chelsea to within five points of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

    The loss ended Burnley’s five-match winning streak.

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  • Conte’s wife steals the show at Press conference

     

    Chelsea Manager Antonio Conte’s wife, Elisabetta, was not at a press conference on Wednesday ahead of Chelsea’s away clash against Burnley but she nonetheless played a prominent role at the event thanks and no thanks to a simple phone call.

    Conte left the media in stitches on Wednesday after a phonecall from his wife interrupted his pre-match press conference.

    The Italian coach is preparing his struggling Blues side for their trip to Burnley, with the boss knowing a loss on Thursday will further dampen their chances of finishing in the top four this season.

    And he was midway through talking about Marcos Alonso’s availability — the left back has been hit by the FA with a violent conduct charge — when his phone began to ring.

    It turned out the caller was Conte’s wife, with one journalist joking that it was for him to pick up the milk on the way home.

    The former Juventus manager found the funny side though, even suggesting he deserves a fine following the untimely interruption.

    He said: ‘It was my wife. Always in the worst moment. I’m sorry.

    ‘You can give me a fine! I’m sorry because I’d be annoyed if it happened to one of you.’

    Meanwhile, Conte believes Manchester City could dominate the Premier League for years to come.

    Pep Guardiola’s team were crowned champions last weekend with five games of the season still to go and boast a 16-point lead over second-placed Manchester United.

    Conte said: ‘Manchester City is one club that can continue to dominate, to win, not only in England, but also to fight for the Champions League.

    ‘They have the possibility to do this. It is a very strong club, they have an important squad with great players and are a club that want to invest and improve. There are a lot of things that are right.’

    Chelsea, in contrast, go into Thursday’s clash with Burnley with their top-four hopes hanging by a thread.

    The Blues trail fourth-placed Tottenham by eight points, even if Spurs have played a game more.

    On his side’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League, Conte said: ‘We have to try until the end to reach this target.

    ‘If we want to be realistic with five games to go, it’s not simple to reduce the gap, but we must have the will to fight, the desire to take this target. Why not?

    ‘We have an important game against Burnley, a really strong team having a fantastic season and it won’t be easy to get three points.’

  • PSG ready to offer Conte £10m deal

     

    Paris Saint-Germain are set to offer Antonio Conte £10million a season in an attempt to convince the Italian to leave Chelsea this summer and have already held talks with his representatives about replacing Unai Emery.

    Emery, who was appointed in 2016, is almost certain to leave the club when his contract expires at the end of this season, having failed to mount a serious challenge for the Champions League following their exit in the first knockout round against Real Madrid last month.

    According to Corriere dello Sport, PSG president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, has made Conte his No 1 target and is ready to table a huge deal to prise him away from Stamford Bridge.

    Jose Mourinho, Diego Simeone and Massimiliano Allegri are also high on Al-Khelaifi’s shortlist to replace Emery – though he is aware it will be harder to tempt them to move from their respective clubs.

    Conte is already earning a reported £9.5m a season at Chelsea, so PSG will only be willing to give him a small increase in salary.

    However, the Italian boss is frustrated at the club and thought to be interested in delving into a new challenge.

    Conte’s relationship with the Chelsea board has deteriorated this season following the 48-year-old’s public claims they have failed him in the transfer market, which has subsequently placed his future at the club in doubt.

    He will sit down with the board next month to discuss his future with Chelsea in fifth position in the Premier League and only capable of winning the FA Cup.

    If he was to join PSG at the end of the season the expectations will be to deliver success in Europe, something he has never done as a manager.

    Emery has led the Parisians to top of the Ligue 1 table, 17 points clear of Monaco, but this parochial triumph has not persuaded the board to retain their faith in him, with the thinking that the club has not progressed enough under him on the European stage.

    Despite the high expectations and pressure that comes with the territory of taking over at PSG, Conte will undoubtedly be interested with the club also prepared to hand him freedom in the transfer market.

    The Chelsea boss has however also been linked with the Italy post. It is understood he is keen to remain in club football with Roberto Mancini and Carlo Ancelotti set to battle it out for the job, but has been placed top of their shortlist.

    Alessandro Costacurta, Italian football federation vice-commissioner, said last month that the Chelsea manager is Italy’s top choice as national coach. ‘I haven’t chosen yet but I think Conte is the one who could do the best,’ he said. ‘I’ll definitely talk with him in a couple of months.’

  • Antonio Conte is top choice for Azzuris job

    Antonio Conte is top choice for Azzuris job

     

    Although the Azzuris failed to qualify for the World cup, the first time they will be watching the Mundial from the sideline in 60 years,  the football federation is nonetheless bent on  reshaping the team for a bounce back.

    Vice commissioner of the Italian football federation (FIGC)Alessandro Costacurta is said to be desirous of having current Chelsea boss Antonio Conte back as coach of the Azzuris.

    Costacurta, plans to hold talks with Conte over the prospect of a return to the position he left in 2016.

    “Among the potential candidates, he would be, for me, the best,” Costacurta told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’ll definitely talk with him in a couple of months.”

    Speculation has persisted for much of this season over Conte’s future, who has struggled to build on the success of his first season at Stamford Bridge, when he won the Premier League title and reached the FA Cup final.

    The former Juventus boss, who admitted this month that “anything is possible” when it comes to his possible plans for next season, has regularly been linked with a move back to his homeland.

    Former Italy and AC Milan defender Costacurta believes Conte’s achievement of guiding the Azzurri to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, a little over a year before they failed to qualify for the World Cup, shows he would be a shrewd choice.

    “Conte has already shown he can be the national team coach,” said Costacurta. “We saw that at the Euros. The other [candidates] haven’t yet.

    “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be happy with [Roberto] Mancini or [Carlo] Ancelotti, although Ancelotti seems to have taken himself out of consideration.”

    Another to have been linked with the role is Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso, but Costacurta says such an appointment would be too early in his former team-mate’s career.

    “I’ll tell you directly: Gattuso, no, I won’t contact him. It would be a bit too soon,” he said.

    “I’m sure he’ll be national team coach in a few years because he has everything: character, determination…

    “But I like him too much. Picking him now would do him harm. I’m looking for a coach who has developed more knowledge or experience of the dugout at the highest level.”

    Under-21 coach Luigi Di Biagio will take charge of Italy in next month’s friendly matches with Argentina and England.

  • Conte wants ‘perfect game’ from Chelsea against Barcelona

    Conte wants ‘perfect game’ from Chelsea against Barcelona

    Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said, the Premier League club must play the perfect game to beat a formidable Barcelona in Tuesday’s first leg of the Champions League last 16 ties.

    The Premier League champions have recovered from a poor run of form, winning consecutive matches over West Bromwich Albion in the league and Hull City in the FA Cup.

    However, Chelsea’s Italian coach is not getting carried away.

    “On one hand you know this team is one of the best in the world – maybe they are favourites to win this competition,” Conte told British media.

    “On the other hand we must be excited because we have a great opportunity to play a massive game against a really strong team and to show which our level is.

    “… We have to try to have the perfect game, the perfect game to try to make the best decisions. For this type of team.

    “They have fantastic characteristics with the ball. But they can have weaknesses without the ball and we have to try and exploit this.”

    Barcelona’s star forward Lionel Messi has never scored in eight matches against Chelsea and Conte is eager for his team to maintain that record.

    Read Also: How Antonio Conte Transformed Chelsea and Won the Title

    Chelsea last defeated the Spanish side in 2012 as the London outfit marched to their first Champions League title.

    Midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Barcelona in 2014, is confident that Conte’s side can repeat the feat.

    “They try to put the first pressure very, very high – (they) always work towards the ball,” Fabregas said.

    “If we can (get) past this first phase of their pressure, then we have the content to do that, and not put ourselves under too much pressure, then I think we can hurt them because they will leave a lot of spaces at the back.

    “Hopefully we can give a good image of what we can do and do a good performance.”

    Chelsea next travel to second-placed Manchester United in the league on Sunday.

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  • EPL: Watford’s late goals stun 10-man Chelsea

    EPL: Watford’s late goals stun 10-man Chelsea

    Watford scored three late goals on Monday to win 4-1 in Javi Gracia’s first home game in charge and increase the pressure on Chelsea counterpart Antonio Conte.

    The Blues played an hour with 10 men after Tiemoue Bakayoko’s red card capped off a dreadful individual 30-minute performance — in which he gifted Watford four chances.

    The Hornets — who had only won one of their previous 12 English Premier League games — led controversially as Gerard Deulofeu went down easily under goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ challenge.

    Troy Deeney went on to score the penalty kick.

    Chelsea, who brought on Olivier Giroud for a debut in the second half, scored an undeserved equaliser when Eden Hazard curled home brilliantly from 25 yards.

    Two minutes later, Daryl Janmaat scored a fantastic goal of his own when he played a one-two with Roberto Pereyra.

    He went on to beat another couple of defenders before scoring with his weaker left foot.

    Deulofeu added another when he ran from halfway before his shot was deflected home by Gary Cahill — and then Pereyra scored a fourth from Abdoulaye Doucoure’s through ball.

    It was Chelsea’s second consecutive defeat by three goals in the Premier League, following their 3-0 home reverse by Bournemouth.

    Read Also: Chelsea thrashed in   Watford

    Deulofeu later said “we are happy for these three points. The team fought too much at the beginning and we are worth this win. I’m so happy for my first game at home.’’

    On the penalty kick he won in the first half, he said “Daryl Janmaat gave me a good ball and I think it’s a clear penalty kick. He (Courtois) touched me… I think.”

    On his part, Janmaat said: “I know I can score goals, I did it in the past last year against Chelsea as well. It is really good

    “I am happy for the team and it is a really important win. We pressed them well. We won a lot of second balls.

    “Last week in Stoke we had a good result, a point there, and three points today. We have to build on from here because we want to be safe as soon as possible.”

    Watford boss Javi Gracia could not hide his joy, saying “you always work for nights like today. But today has been an unforgettable night. I am very proud of my players and very happy for our fans.”

    Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, when asked about his future with the club after two successive defeats, retorted: “My position? It is the same. I stay here, try to work and put all myself in the work.

    “The pressure? Which pressure? What is the pressure? I work — if this is enough it is, OK. Otherwise the club has to take another decision.”

    NAN