If it’s any good, can you post the interview please?
THE ITALIAN TECHNICIAN IS BACK IN PREMIER FOR HIS MOST DIFFICULT CHALLENGE: RETURNING TOTTENHAM TO THE TOP. «I HAVE ALWAYS BUILT AND LEAVE A WINNING TEAM. HOW IT HAPPENED IN MILAN. HERE THE MANAGER ENGRAVES
ON AND OFF THE FIELD. I STUDY FOOTBALL EVERY DAY: IT'S MY LIFE, MY PASSION, MY WORK "
From the King of the City, Pep Guardiola ("Welcome back to Conte in the Premier League. His career speaks for him, he has won and been successful everywhere. He is an exceptional coach") to the Sicilian-born London taxman Enzo ("Greet me so much Antonio, I support Chelsea and I still regret it ... »). From Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp ("I love him, fantastic, passionate and intelligent coach") to Paul waiter in the SevenSister neighborhood ("Ultimately my Tottenham will win again"). From “Loco” Bielsa, gu- ru of Leeds ("A true representative of the Italian school. He is a point of reference in world football and a master in bringing out the best in his players") to Jenny, receptionist of hotels ("I call it blue eyes, it conveys the desire to win just by looking at it"). Until the lightning bolt Usain Bolt a United fan ("We missed him, I would have liked him at Manchester. Wherever he goes, he wins"). And we could go on, because the list is very long. Antonio's return to England, as they affectionately call him without needing a surname, was greeted with esteem, warmth and admiration by all: technicians, common people, excellent fans.
And he, the "Earl of London", re-changes the warm welcome received not only by Tottenham fans, using words to
honey towards a league from which he has never really detached himself, having followed him for study and passion even when he trained Inter: "The Premier is the best there is from all points of view," he explains. «It improves you, it pushes you to give your best. It has an irresistible charm. Entertainment, passion, organization, investments, structures: here football finds its maximum expression, on and off the pitch. I knew that sooner or later I would be back, maybe I didn't think so soon ... Better this way for my English which is still fresh, I didn't need full immersion lessons like five years ago, when I came to Chelsea ». Balance of the first three games played by Spurs with him on the bench: heart-pounding victory in Confederation 3-2 with Vitesse. A crazy race as he doesn't like him: «To climb to the top you need stability and continuity of performance and results. The Russian mountains are good for the carnival, not on the pitch ”. Then a solid debut in the Premier League at Everton that ended 0-0 and finally last Sunday the comeback victory over Leeds 2-1. At the end of the match, Conte's hug to his players and his liberating shout at the fans with his fists in the sky, “Come on!”, Made the rounds of social media and English broadcasts: the conductor is got back. And Tottenham
of the ups and downs he already seems to have found the determination of his coach-manager.
The opportunity to visit the man of the Scudetti (5 in 7 years with Juventus, Chelsea and Inter) arises two weeks after his arrival in the world of Spurs, during the break for the World Cup qualifiers. He explained to us: "This is the moment when I have a little more time because then in December the calendar is very busy, we play every 2-3 days ...". But when Conte is busy working, the concept of "a little more time available" is very relative. Even without half a team around the world, his schedule does not change: he wakes up early in the morning, at 9 already at work. Meetings, tactical analyzes, study of videos, morning training, then in the afternoon, another session, gym, meetings, preparation for the next competitions. So until 9 in the evening. "Those who have time do not wait for time" is a cult phrase of his, the result of that desire to use every minute available to improve, raise the bar, transfer his working method made up of intensity, care of particular, technical, tactical, physical preparation and, above all, creating that winning mentality that leads the group to experience success not only as a simple goal, but as a
"Magnificent obsession". We enter the continuous full immersion, taking advantage of the break after lunch. The sun and the clear sky, anomalous compared to the usual London gray in November, lull a walk in the magnificent Tottenham ground, a sports center to remain open-mouthed for its size, care, facilities: dozens of training fields with perfect grass, gyms, swimming pools, meeting rooms, offices, changing rooms, mini golf courses, gardens, tree-lined avenues, and a guesthouse that looks like a 5-star hotel for players, technical staff and executives. It is no coincidence that a part is often rented to the English national team as well. Everything is brand new: modern buildings with glass facades contrast with the English cottage style with postcard corners and interiors with sofas, leather armchairs, carpets, fireplaces.
"I've never seen a center like this", smiles Conte, amazed and satisfied
undone. “You look around and it never ends. Many do not understand how many points it can give to work in such a structure. Because the matches are played on Sunday but are won during the week. And the owned stadium, which cost more than a billion, is something even more incredible, with the fans giving you wings. Tottenham has world top club structures. The team must be up to it. Today there is a gap between investments made by the company and sporting results: we have to fill it ".
He left Inter Scudetta because plans and ambitions had changed. What convinced you to accept Tottenham who finished seventh last year?
“President Levy has shown that he wants me at all costs. In his words and in the investments made, I perceived a vision: the desire to excel. I said to myself: if we combine this ability off the pitch to what I can give on the pitch, you can really set up a serious and profound job. Grow and compete with other big English clubs. The team is young and has a lot of room for improvement. But the competition is fierce with the four giants Chelsea, City, Liverpool, United. And then Woolwich, West Ham, Everton ... ».
She called it the most difficult challenge of her career. Coming fourth this year would already be a challenge.
“They never scared me
the challenges, I just need to have even a 1% chance of winning them to start my battle. I have never taken teams that had won the year before, but always reconstruction paths. Juve came from an eighth place, Chelsea from a tenth, Inter from a quarter. I know it will take a little patience this time. In Milan I left a finished job. Here I have to start over and enter the current season is never easy ».
But you are one who usually goes in a hurry ...
«Great teams build over time. Klopp did not enter the Champions League in the early years in Liverpool, but they gave him confidence and year after year he shaped the team that then won it. Guardiola didn't win the first year either. We are starting from a-b-c, but on the way we plan to accelerate with the letters of the alphabet. The path is bumpy but it doesn't scare me, it excites me ».
In Italy it is said: now Conte will make Tottenham spend a lot on the market ...
"It makes me laugh. Let me tell you that in my career at the
in the end I have always made money, not spend. I have often worked with young people to train, athletes devalued or to be rebuilt, players who had never won until then. All players who have reevaluated, thanks to my work. In my career I have only asked for a player who has been paid a lot ... ».
Lukaku?
"Exactly. I asked for it based on the objectives that had been presented to me. The Inter executives came to my house to tell me that they wanted to overthrow Juve's hegemony and bring Inter to the top of the world, taking advantage of large amounts of money. I asked Lukaku considering it essential. But also look at what has been resold: almost double. Like Hakimi. But I could mention the enhancement of Barella, Bastoni, Lautaro, who did not play before my arrival ... At Juve I had the pleasure of working with Barzagli, Boucci and Chiellini: phenomena, but when I still hadn't won anything. "
Does he mean that he carries the wrong label?
«I mean that where I go I always build something important and when I leave I leave a groove, a culture of work, an organization and a winning mentality. I totally put my heart and soul into the club I work for. Faithful to that All Blacks motto: "Leave the shirt better than how you found it". I have always left houses with well-built foundations where others, after me, have had the opportunity to continue to win, some more, some less. It is not presumption, they are facts ».
The impression is that in Italy, despite the victories, she always had a few pointed fingers-to against. In England, on the other hand, it has unanimous approval.
«In Italy in general we struggle to give the right merits, as if our excellence, in all fields, bothers us. Abroad, however, it is the opposite. I understand that I may have been divisive. As a player I only wore two shirts, that of Lecce and Juve, of which I was the captain. And since Juve are loved by their fans and hated by everyone else, I understand that I could also arouse dislikes. But as a coach I always said that I would coach any team, if there was a serious and stimulating program. And I have proved it. Giving my all. The experience attendance in the national team brought me closer to the people, but ours is a cultural problem. In England everything is different, starting with the atmosphere surrounding football. "
www.mirror.co.uk
Airfixx
, Schmoods, and the rest of you ENIC fanatics.....would you like to take this opportunity to show some balls and admit we was right all along?
