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Tag: Conte

  • EPL: Why Man Utd pulled out of Conte talks

    EPL: Why Man Utd pulled out of Conte talks

    Manchester United pulled out of talks with Antonio Conte over his transfer budget demands ahead of him taking the Tottenham job.

    The Mirror reports United didn’t appoint Antonio Conte to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer because he demanded a £250m transfer budget for 2022.

    Conte was touted as a replacement for the underperforming Solskjaer last month, but United chiefs ultimately stuck by their former player.

    Conte is said to have been interested in the role when approached, but as the Tottenham job became available, he was happy to pass up the United opportunity.

    The Italian manager wanted the bumper budget to use in the next two transfer windows, and United chiefs wouldn’t give that to him.

    Fellow managerial target Zinedine Zidane, who was sounded out by the Red Devils too, also had unsuitable demands.

    The former Real Madrid boss wanted assurances he would have a certain level of control after having issues with such matters in his two spells in the Spanish capital.

  • Conte to Tottenham players: Your diet is wrong and you’re overweight

    Conte to Tottenham players: Your diet is wrong and you’re overweight

    New Tottenham coach Antonio Conte has told some his players they’re overweight.

    Conte has not hesitated in making sweeping changes in his first week as Tottenham manager, even banning ketchup and mayonnaise and telling his players they are overweight.

    The Athletic reports Spurs stars were ‘dead’ after a training session last Friday despite beating Vitesse the night before, such is the priority Conte puts into work on the training pitch.

    He also treated his stars to a 75-minute video analysis session of the win over the Dutch side, despite the meeting being initially pencilled in for 20 minutes.

    Conte did not hold back about his players’ physical condition in the aftermath of the European win, too. He told them some of them were overweight and insisted their mentality had to change.

    Nutrition has been one area that Conte has poured huge focus into during the first week of his tenure in north London. He has even ensured his squad eat lunch together at midday.

    He’s withdrawn ‘heavy food and sandwiches’ from the menu at the training ground canteen and also got rid of ketchup and mayonnaise.

    There has also been cut backs to the amount of fruit juice given to players and the amount of oil and butter used in cooking. He’s also urged his stars to eat more fruit.

  • Tottenham fullback admits asking Hakimi about Conte

    Tottenham fullback admits asking Hakimi about Conte

    Tottenham fullback Sergio Reguilon admits he asked PSG defender Achraf Hakimi about new manager Antonio Conte.

    The pair played together at Real Madrid, with Hakimi winning Serie A under Conte last season at Inter Milan.

    “The gaffer is special,” Reguilon told the London Evening Standard. “He loves training hard but now we don’t have a lot of time to work on the things he wants on the pitch. So we did a lot of meetings with videos this week.

    “I’ve never played five at the back before. I have to learn quickly. The gaffer has told me he wants me to be solid in defence but at the same moment I have to arrive in the box, help the strikers, score goals, give assists. Now I have more of a chance to score goals and give assists. So let’s work.

    “I have to see many videos with the staff to do what they want on the pitch. I’m enjoying the position a lot because I can attack more but I have to run double!

    “I’ve watched a lot of videos of Chelsea and Inter Milan, and I have a friend at Inter, Achraf Hakimi who I spoke to about the gaffer. He told me I will improve a lot under him and I want to do that as soon as possible. He said I will have to work really, really hard but I will improve a lot. In one week, I can already see that.”

  • Harry Redknapp urges Conte to sign Juventus captain

    Harry Redknapp urges Conte to sign Juventus captain

    Former Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp says Antonio Conte should move for Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini.

    He wrote for The Sun: “Antonio Conte may be all smiles at the minute but he’ll have no problem ruffling a few feathers to get Tottenham back on the straight and narrow.

    “And if I were Conte, the first thing I’d be doing is telling Daniel Levy there is another Italian who should be joining him in North London as soon as possible.

    “Over the next few weeks, no doubt, we’ll see a list of the supposed big-name targets he wants when the transfer window opens.

    “I doubt very much if 37-year-old Giorgio Chiellini will be on it but, for me, he’s the one man the new Spurs manager should move Heaven and Earth to bring to London with him.

    “I know they’d hardly be signing someone for the long term, but in terms of sorting them out immediately, there would be no one better.

    “And we saw once again on Thursday against Vitesse Arnhem – hardly one of Europe’s big guns – how badly Spurs need someone to take command of that defence.”

  • Why I believe Nuno was sacked at Tottenham – Conte

    Why I believe Nuno was sacked at Tottenham – Conte

    Tottenham boss Antonio Conte says there were reasons for Nuno’s demise.

    Conte claimed his predecessor Nuno was sacked after just four months because his players were ‘too emotional’ and not fit enough.

    He said: “I’ve seen in a few days that we need to work a lot to improve many aspects — for every single player, not only one, two or three.

    “This squad has to work to improve their physical condition, to go into my idea of football, to have more order on the pitch and to not be so emotional during the game, to improve their capacity to suffer.

    “We have to improve many aspects. For this reason, Tottenham decided to change something. Because when the situation is not good, usually the coach pays for this.”

  • Antonio Conte wins first match as Tottenham manager

    Antonio Conte wins first match as Tottenham manager

    Antonio Conte’s spell at Tottenham Hotspur got off to winning start thanks to a 3-2 victory against Vitesse Arnhem on Thursday.

    In front of a raucous crowd in north London, Spurs got their supporters bouncing with an emphatic opening spell.

    Son Heung-min latched onto a scramble in the box to make it 1-0 after 14 minutes.

    Lucas Moura – starting up front with Kane and Son in a 3-4-3 formation – made it two after breaking free of the Vitesse defence.

    With 28 minutes on the clock, it was 3-0 for the home side as Harry Kane and Ben Davies forced an own goal from Jacob Rasmussen.

    But it was evident that Conte has his work cut out for him as Vitesse quickly got back in the game.

    Rasmussen made up for his earlier indiscretion by getting the Dutch side back into the game four minutes after his own goal.

    Five minutes before half-time and Vitesse were down only a goal after Matus Bero took advantage of sloppy play from Moura before slotting past Hugo Lloris.

    Cristiano Romero then made Spurs play with 10-men after he was shown a second yellow for fouling Lois Openda.

    The personnel advantage was even with 10 minutes left when Danilho Doekhi was shown his second yellow, before Vitesse were reduced to nine-men after Markus Schubert’s deliberate handball to stop Emerson Royal’s lob.

    Spurs are now second in their Europa Conference League group, three points behind leaders Rennes.

    Speaking after the game, Conte was relieved to win what he described as a ‘crazy’ match.

     

  • Ex-Chelsea defender mocks Tottenham over Conte’s appointment

    Ex-Chelsea defender mocks Tottenham over Conte’s appointment

    Former Chelsea defender, Marcel Desailly, has mocked Tottenham Hotspur following their appointment of Antonio Conte as their new manager.

    Conte was appointed Tottenham’s new head coach on Tuesday following the sack of Nuno Espírito Santo on Monday.

    In a post on Instagram, Desailly posted a picture of former Tottenham manager, Jose Mourinho telling Conte: “They pay you to come, then pay you to leave… and you don’t even have to win anything. It’s incredible!!’

    Meanwhile, Speaking during his first pre-match press conference ahead of Tottenham’s Europa League clash with Vitesse on Thursday, Conte promised the club’s fans that Spurs would start playing ‘attractive football’.

    Recall that Mourinho lasted just 17 months at Tottenham before he was sacked.

    The Portuguese gaffer is currently the manager of AS Roma.

  • Antonio Conte wants four Serie A players at Tottenham

    Antonio Conte wants four Serie A players at Tottenham

    Antonio Conte has several Serie A stars on his shopping list as he takes charge of Tottenham team.

    The former Inter Milan coach was named Tottenham’s manager on Tuesday after the sacking of Nuno.

    La Gazzetta dello Sport says Conte expects to be backed in the winter market and has already discussed targets with Spurs officials.

    Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic tops his shopping list, which also includes AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie.

    At the back, Conte wants a reunion with Inter defender Stefan de Vrij, while he is also keen on Lazio’s Manuel Lazzarri.

  • Pep Guardiola welcomes Conte back to Premier League

    Pep Guardiola welcomes Conte back to Premier League

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was the first Premier League manager to react to Antonio Conte returning to England.

    Conte was named new Tottenham manager today.

    Speaking ahead of his side’s Champions League clash with Club Brugge on Wednesday, he praised the Italian’s record.

    “Welcome back to the PL,” Guardiola said.

    “His career speaks for himself. An outstanding manager who has had success everywhere.”

  • EPL: Antonio Conte named new Tottenham manager

    EPL: Antonio Conte named new Tottenham manager

    Premier League club, Tottenham have appointed former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte as their new manager until summer 2023.

    The London club sacked Nuno Espirito Santo on Monday after just 17 games, with Spurs eighth in the table.

    Tottenham says there is “an option to extend” 52-year-old Conte’s deal with them.

    “I am extremely happy to return to coaching, and to do so at a Premier League club that has the ambition to be a protagonist again,” said Conte.

    The Italian returns to London after winning the Premier League in his first season at Chelsea (2016-17) and the FA Cup in his second before being sacked in 2018.

    He then led Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in 11 years before leaving the club in May.

    Conte had been in charge for two years and Inter said it was a mutual decision to end his contract with one year remaining.

    The former Juventus and Italy coach was then in talks with Tottenham in the summer about becoming Jose Mourinho’s successor.

    But negotiations were halted before Spurs appointed ex-Wolves boss Nuno at the end of June, with the Portuguese boss, 47, lasting just four months.

    “I can’t wait to start working to convey to the team and the fans the passion, mentality and determination that have always distinguished me, as a player and as a coach,” said Conte.

    “Last summer our union did not happen because the end of my relationship with Inter was still too recent and emotionally too involved with the end of the season, so I felt that it wasn’t yet the right time to return to coaching.

    “But the contagious enthusiasm and determination of [Tottenham chairman] Daniel Levy in wanting to entrust me with this task had already hit the mark.

    “Now that the opportunity has returned, I have chosen to take it with great conviction.”

    Conte’s first game will be at home against Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League on Thursday before Spurs play at Everton in the league on Sunday.

    “His track record speaks for itself, with vast experience and trophies in both Italy and England,” said Tottenham managing director of football Fabio Paratici.

    “I know first hand the qualities Antonio can bring to us, having worked with him at Juventus, and look forward to seeing his work with our talented group of players.”