TARGET ZLATAN
He’s United’s danger man, says Conte
CHELSEA go to Old Trafford tomorrow to face their former boss Jose Mourinho — with current manager Antonio Conte urging his league leaders to stop Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Manchester United striker, 35, was this week short-listed for the PFA Player of the Year award along with Chelsea rivals Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante, and Conte believes the Swede is getting better with age.
‘Zlatan is in the top form of his career,’ said Conte. ‘He is a great player now, not only a finisher. He plays for the team. He’s one of the best in the world.
‘When he attacks the box, he’s very dangerous. Also when he receives the ball, he’s dangerous. He’s a dangerous player. For this reason, my players must pay great attention and great concentration to stop him.’
Conte also spoke up for Paul Pogba, who played for him at his former club Juventus but has struggled to live up to his £89m price tag. ‘Paul can change a game,’ said the Italian. ‘He is a great talent, the complete modern player.’
THE first engagement ended with the irony of Jose Mourinho admonishing Antonio Conte for over-exuberance on the touchline.
The second with Mourinho claiming ‘Judas is No 1’ after Chelsea fans had turned on the man they once adored and hailed Conte as his rightful successor.
Part three, tomorrow at Old Trafford, is cloaked with the tension of a title run-in and still there is barely a flicker in the way of verbal retaliation from the Italian.
‘Many coaches try to manipulate the ideas but it is not important for me,’ said Conte from the moral high ground at the top of the Premier League.
Mourinho is thrashing around, 18 points behind with Manchester United, juggling an assault on the Europa League with a scramble for the top four and reminding
MATA OUT FOR SEASON
JOSE MOURINHO has confirmed that Juan Mata is out for the rest of the season following groin surgery. Although the Spaniard’s operation took place last month, he had hoped to come back before the season ended. But Mourinho says Mata (right), 28, who joined from Chelsea in January 2014, will not be fit until the end of May. The United manager also revealed that defenders Phil Jones and Chris Smalling will not return until mid-May, but could be back for the season’s finale. anyone who will listen how teams with fresh players and no European campaign have an edge.
At Stamford Bridge they note wryly that the reason they are not in Europe is at least partly down to the man now in charge at Old Trafford.
‘I listened to this same story when I was the coach in Juventus in my first season,’ said Conte. ‘Liverpool (without Europe this season) are the same. For sure, we had more time to work with the team and it is important in the first season to have time to transfer your ideas.
‘But to think this is the only reason we are on top of the table is a great mistake. We are doing a great job. We hope in the future to play in the Champions League. I would prefer this.’
Chelsea’s results do most of the talking. They beat United 4-0 in October and knocked them out of the FA Cup last month.
On the touchline, however, Conte will not be afraid to go nose-tonose once again with Mourinho as he did in the Cup tie at the Bridge when he reacted angrily to what he saw as an attempt to kick Eden Hazard out of the game. ‘Sporting conflict is the game,’ said Conte. ‘It is not a friendly game. Both teams want the three points and you both fight to try to win.
‘If you ask me if I like it or not, I don’t. I prefer to be focused on my team and the game during the match so I can find the right solution if my team is in difficulty.
‘As managers and players with one team you must give 100 per cent. Then, if you change your team, you must love this team in the same way, love the shirt, the players and the fans.
‘You have to try to put this new club in the best position and it is the same for Mourinho.
‘Mourinho is United’s manager and must fight against his opponents. I have zero problems with this. We have great respect for his history with this club.’
Mourinho made a seismic impact when he arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004, winning the title for Chelsea in his first season and then defending it.
Five more wins and Conte will equal the first part of this achievement, but Mourinho can increase pressure on his former club by taking points from the Premier League leaders.
Memories of a goal Conte scored for Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final in 1999 will warm the Chelsea manager as he returns to Old Trafford, but it also comes with a reminder of United’s ability to strike when they seem down and out.
‘I remember because I didn’t score a lot,’ said Conte. ‘It was a great goal and then Ryan Giggs equalised in the last minute. In the second-leg, we were winning 2-0 after 25 minutes and lost 3-2 and Manchester United won the Champions League.’
Conte is also respectful of the Juventus connection within Mourinho’s team, having signed Paul Pogba when Juve coach in 2012 and seen Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrive in Turin as he ended his playing career, eight years earlier.
‘Zlatan is at the top of his form in his career,’ said Conte. ‘He is a great player now, not only a finisher. He plays for the team. For me, he’s one of the best in the world.
‘Paul is a player who can change a game. I know him very well and he is a great talent. The complete modern player: very strong and fast with fantastic technique and good stamina.’
Was he worth a world-record £89million? ‘That question is better to United,’ said Conte. ‘We didn’t spend this money on him.
‘He is a top player and when you buy a top player you must be able to pay a lot of money. I am sure in the future someone can pay more than this.’