Relaxed Conte getting used to new life in England
ANTONIO CONTE is mid-sentence when he reclines back into his chair and a little giggle breaks out.
‘In England, I’m learning new habits,’ he grins. ‘For example, there is music before games in the changing room. In Italy, this doesn’t exist! Everyone is very quiet in Italy. It’s a great new idea for me. I want Discotheque music belting out — the boom-boom!’
Upon the dawn of his first season in English football, the new Chelsea manager is certainly hitting the right notes. He is embracing aspects of the English game but some things will remain very much the same.
We know from Euro 2016 that he is another jack-in-the-box, gesticulating and barking orders to his players. Against West Ham tomorrow, Sky Sports may be tempted to record the distance travelled by Conte and the similarly excitable Bilic in the Stamford Bridge technical areas.
In his younger coaching days, Conte would shout orders through a megaphone in training. These days, he makes do with the strength of his own voice but one Chelsea player confided to the Mail On Sunday that this has been the most physically testing preseason he has endured.
Conte’s systems — most commonly a high intensity 4-2-4 or a 3-5-2 — demand that his players are mentally and physically at their peak. Tonight should be a particularly eventful night in the Conte household.
‘Before the games, usually I don’t sleep a lot,’ he says, ‘I may sleep for two, three or four hours. Then I wake up, I start to think about the game, to the situation and often I have a good idea on the tactical aspect in the early hours of the morning.’
A fast start is required as he seeks to heal the scars of last season. Under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea won only four of their first sixteen league games last season. What may have been forgotten is they also ended the season with only two wins in their final ten games under Guus Hiddink.
‘I hate losing,’ Conte says. ‘When I don’t win, it’s very difficult for me to sleep. At night, I think why is it that we have lost. I need to have a quick reply, for me and the players. I want to find ‘why, why?’. Where is the situation that creates more difficulty for us? Who are the players that create more difficulty? Was our tactical plan good or not? I need to have the answers.
‘For example, at Euro 2016, when Italy lost against Ireland, it happened. We had already qualified, but we lost the game, and I didn’t like this. In the middle of the night, I wanted to watch the match again to understand why, which is the reason because today we lost.’
He will be hoping his sleepless nights are few and far between in West London this season.