I have been following Conte for a long long time. As a player he was a less crazy, more intelligent and less talented version of Keane. He would lead by example, he would rally the troops and he would make sure that everyone would follow the instructions. Lippi once said that he never bothered explaining Conte any tactics. That’s quite an achievement considered that Lippi was a control freak and a massive cnut who loved making people around him look stupid.
Conte’s return to Juventus was pretty straightforward and for good reason. The man was born to be a Juventus manager. He was a natural in terms of understanding tactics, he had great leadership + his work ethic + ruthlessness is synonymous to Juventus. All that shouting, posturing and overreaction are not for show/part of a mind game. Conte is that type of person. He will always give his 100%, every time and every moment of his life.
However, he does have a slight flaw in his character which, I believe, will not allow him to develop to the heights of SAF or even Mourinho. The guy expects that same work ethic and will to win at all costs from everybody and is not ready to compromise. If he wants something and that is not given to him then he will become moody. Do that in repetition and you’ll end up becoming his no 1 enemy.
Juventus learnt that the hard way. At one point Conte wanted Cuadrado. He thought that he was his ‘missing’ link to do well in the CL. Unfortunately Chelsea bidded for him. Juventus wasn’t (and still isn’t) in a position to start a bidding war with Chelsea so it turned its sights elsewhere. Surely Conte would understand. He’s been with Juventus for so many years and he knows that the club had its own limits. He also know that the club has some of the best scouts in the world so they will probably be able to bring a top quality alternative to him.
Well…..Conte didn’t took that well. He went on the media and delivered a speech that would make the likes of Keegan proud. His analogies became legendary. ‘You can’t pretend to eat at a 100 euros restaurant with just 10 euros…bla bla bla’. After that, he had no choice but to leave. You don’t take la vecchia signora on in that way and expect to keep your job afterwards. That was never going to happen.
Italy came to the rescue and offered him a job. The national team wasn’t passing from the best of moments and signing Conte was a bit of a coup. Unfortunately, his flaw in character soon became evident. Conte would moan endlessly how this was a part time job and about his inability of organizing friendlies and training camps when he liked to. The FA responded to that by saying that no FA would ever allow that to happen. The Serie A can’t be disrupted simply because the national team manager was bored. Meanwhile Allegri’s European success at Juventus hit his pride. He simply had to step back into action before Allegri is able to win the CL with Juventus.
Chelsea was supposed to be Conte’s opportunity to shine without having any restrictions whatsoever. The man is determined to win the CL, Chelsea has the money to make that happen and that’s the only thing that matters. The moment Conte start hearing no then rest assured that he won’t be happy. If he can show the middle finger to the club that made him then imagine what he would do towards a mercenary club with no history and with whom he’s got no attachment too.
