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Tag: Conte

  • Conte reveals reason behind McTominay form at Napoli

    Conte reveals reason behind McTominay form at Napoli

    Napoli boss Antonio Conte has revealed what he believes is the reason for Scott McTominay’s impressive form at the Serie A leaders.

    The 28-year-old has taken to Italian football like a duck to water, scoring 12 goals and providing two assists in his 32 games across all competitions.

    McTominay has been key for Napoli as they sit three points ahead of current Serie A holders Inter Milan in the race for this season’s league title.

    Conte, who, like the Scotland international, joined the club last summer, has revealed what he believes in the reason behind his fine form.

    “I think McTominay is stronger today than when he arrived from United. Here he has grown a lot,” he told reporters.

    “I think that he himself feels stronger, with more knowledge, that he is also reaching an important stage of his age to understand where to go in his career because up to now he has been in the middle.

    “He has never had a main role at United that instead we have given him here, he has grown a lot by working, today he is complete.

    “But the improvement that he has had, everyone has had, otherwise it becomes difficult to explain why today we have 74 points.”

  • Lukaku rejected EPL offers to join me – Napoli coach, Conte

    Lukaku rejected EPL offers to join me – Napoli coach, Conte

    Napoli coach Antonio Conte says Romelu Lukaku rejected Premier League offers to join him in Naples.

    Lukaku left Chelsea for Napoli in August and has shown signs of returning to his very best under Conte.

    After victory at AC Milan last night, the Azzurri coach said: “There is great empathy with Romelu, he wanted to come to Naples at all costs, he even refused the Premier League to work together again.

    “I can speak highly of him. I am lucky to have an exceptional group of guys. If you have guys ready to die sportingly speaking, you know you can have everything.”

    Conte also said: “I suffer because I would like to win them all. We prepared for this match with just one training session having played on Saturday. I thank the staff and the people who are constantly stressed, I ask a lot of myself and also of the others. The availability of everyone is the thing I like most, together with the unity of purpose.

    “The team has scored many points but we will have to be prepared even when there is some setback. We want to make our fans proud. The boys have all been on the ball. I am excited to work with this group, they are open in what we do.”

  • Conte dreams of returning to Juventus – Moggi

    Conte dreams of returning to Juventus – Moggi

    Former Juventus director general Luciano Moggi believes Antonio Conte wants to return to the Bianconeri.

    However, Moggi believes Max Allegri is now well established in the Juve dugout.

    He told Radio Bianconera: “I didn’t say what was reported, they asked me if it was true that Conte had received offers from Napoli, I said that he replied no to everyone, including (Aurelio) De Laurentiis.

    “He wants to stay out still this year and perhaps dreams of returning to Juventus. I didn’t say he will certainly return to Turin.

    “Criticisms of the Juve game? This is Allegri’s Juve, if you don’t want to watch it go to the cinema.”

  • Chelsea make contact with Antonio Conte’s agents

    Chelsea make contact with Antonio Conte’s agents

    Antonio Conte is being linked with a return to Chelsea.

    Just a fortnight after Conte left Tottenham by mutual consent, Chelsea sacked Graham Potter on Sunday night.

    The Blues are now in the process of hiring former manager Frank Lampard as caretaker to the end of the season.

    And The Independent reports Conte is among the managers the club’s owners wish to speak to.

    Conte guided Chelsea to the Premier League title in 2017 and contact has been made via his agents to sound him out about a return to Stamford Bridge.

    The Italian, however, is one of several candidates being considered by the board.

  • Antonio Conte finds positives in Man City defeat

    Antonio Conte finds positives in Man City defeat

    Tottenham boss Antonio Conte admitted mixed feelings after their 4-2 defeat at Manchester City.

    Spurs were 2-0 up at halftime before City, inspired by Riyad Mahrez, clicked into gear.

    Conte later said, “We played a good game with personality. We put a lot of pressure on City and created problems for them. They are always really difficult to play, but I am disappointed too.

    “I hate losing – especially when we scored the two goals first.

    “We have to continue to work and have patience. We need to create something important with this team. We are ready to improve and grow from this game. That means we have to adapt. We have experience in our team so we need to use that.”

  • EPL: Our plan is to hurt Man City – Conte

    EPL: Our plan is to hurt Man City – Conte

    Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte says his team will have to hurt Manchester City tonight in their Premier League fixture.

    Conte said he and the players must continue to work as hard as possible if they’re to take anything away from the Etihad.

    “You know very well that we are facing, in my opinion, the best team in this moment and one of the best teams in the world,” said the Head Coach. “We are talking about a team that is full of top players and for this reason we have to perform, to over-perform, to try to get a good result.

    “Last season the result was good but you know very well, when you play against City, you have to concede possession of the ball for a long part of the game and in the part that you have the ball, you have to try to hurt them. We are working very hard to do it.”

    Offering his thoughts on City striker Erling Haaland, who has plundered a remarkable 27 goals in all competitions, Conte continued: “We are talking about a young player but at the same time, I think his status is an important status. He is showing to be a really strong player, he has scored over 20 goals – it’s incredible in your first season in the Premier League to score in this way. Yes, we have to pay attention (to him), but we have to pay attention to all of Manchester City’s players because we are talking, I repeat, about a really good team.”

    Spurs face City again in the League on February 5.

    “We have to play game by game,” Conte added. “For sure, they will be two difficult games because they are second in the table, usually they win the league, and also this season I think, with Arsenal, they are the two title contenders to win the Premier League. It won’t be easy, it’s normal, but at the same time it can also be a big push for my players to try to give everything to deliver a good result for our fans.”

  • Diego Costa tells Chelsea fans why he left

    Diego Costa tells Chelsea fans why he left

    Wolves striker Diego Costa took aim at Tottenham boss Antonio Conte after defeat at Chelsea.

    It marked his return to the Blues after being bombed out while Conte was in charge.

    Post-match, he opened up about his fondness still for the west Londoners four years on from his exit. Interestingly enough, a little shot was aimed in Conte’s direction to explain where it went wrong and where the relationship strained a little during the latter days.

    He said to the foreign media post-match: “I’ve never had a problem with the fans. I left in bad terms with *that* manager, I left a champion for the second time, and he didn’t count on me. That was nothing I could do. I had to leave. Today showed that I did not leave on bad terms with the fans.

    “It’s very special. It’s the feeling that in the time that you spent here, you did good work and left good memories. Chelsea fans always treated me very well. I was always surprised by the way they treated me. It’s satisfying.”

  • I can teach people how not to concede 6 goals – Conte mocks Ten Hag

    I can teach people how not to concede 6 goals – Conte mocks Ten Hag

    Tottenham manager Antonio Conte defended his tactics after Saturday’s defeat at Arsenal.

    Stung by criticism of Tottenham’s supine defeat over the garden fence in north London, Conte levelled an indirect dig at Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag shipping six in their own derby with a reminder his teams have never been so porous.

    Conte declared at his Champions League presser: “If we were able to exploit the situation, especially last passes, we would have been able to score many goals against Arsenal. Instead we made really bad mistakes for the last passes because we had the opportunity to go one-to-one, but every team has to think and understand the way to play different games.

    “Last season we won 3-0 (against Arsenal) and, when you win, the opponent has to explain, but for me it’s important to have a plan, to put my players in the best possible situation to exploit their characteristics.

    “Otherwise it can happen that you can concede six, seven or eight goals – in England that happens a lot of times. In my career never, never happened because I don’t like to play open, concede a lot of space and concede six, seven or eight goals. I won in England, I won in my past and I think I can teach football to many people.”

  • Conte reveals Tottenham player that can marry his daughter

    Conte reveals Tottenham player that can marry his daughter

    Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has disclosed that Heung-min Son is the kind of man he could allow to marry his daughter.

    Son, who was below his best in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, was furious after he was substituted in the second half.

    The South Korean has not been at his best this season and is a shadow of the player that claimed the Premier League Golden Boot last season.

    But Conte has no doubts about the South Korean’s talent or his personality and will continue to back him.

    “I understand Sonny is a really sensible player,” Conte told reporters.

    “He’s really sensible and a top man, a really good guy. If I am to make an example, if I have to find a husband for my daughter I’d like it to be a person like him.

    “In this moment maybe he’s suffering a lot that he’s not scoring…We trust him and the team-mates.

    “For me, Sonny will always be a nut in my team, in my ambition of football.”

  • Richarlison has made Tottenham nasty – Conte

    Richarlison has made Tottenham nasty – Conte

    Tottenham boss Antonio Conte says Richarlison has transformed the team’s approach.

    His ability to get under opponents’ skin was seen as an attractive quality to Conte, who wanted to make his team more streetwise this season.

    Speaking ahead of Saturday’s hosting of Wolves, Conte said: “For sure Richy is a player that made us focused, nasty. He’s a player I like.

    “He’s always into the training session with his mind. For us I think this is a good sign.

    “We are working also on the tactical aspect because the season will be long and there are many games that we have to play also with four strikers.

    “In the end at Chelsea, we played with Lucas Moura as wing-back, (Ivan) Perisic – we are talking about in the past a striker -, Richarlison, Kulusevski, Sonny (and Kane).

    “But to do this, it’s important to have organisation in the tactical aspect.”