CONTE: I AM A VICTIM OF MY OWN SUCCESS
Antonio ContE fears he is a victim of his own coaching brilliance, trusted to achieve success on the cheap but a ‘disaster’ when it comes to getting the players he wants.
Conte believes his ability to improve the team he coaches has backfired on his own ambition, with his employers seizing on his talent to save money in the transfer market.
‘if i have a player who is a six, i bring him to an eight,’ said the Chelsea manager. ‘ if i have a player who is an eight, i take him to 10. i am this type of coach.
‘My task is to try to improve every player in every aspect: mentality, desire, the will to fight and the tactical aspects. this is my task. i am very good.
‘i think i am a bit of a disaster at convincing the club to buy the players... in this aspect i can improve a lot. i have to learn a lot from the other managers, in that aspect.
‘i have to speak more with the managers who are very good at persuading their clubs to spend money and buy top players.’
Conte quit Juventus in 2014 after a hat-trick of Serie A titles and a long internal struggle with the board to release money to pursue expensive transfer targets such as Gonzalo Higuain. When he arrived at Chelsea and recommended a move for Higuain, it was Juventus who thwarted him, spending £75million to take the prolific Argentina striker from napoli.
Since winning the title in his first season in London, Conte has become locked in a dispute with the board over recruitment.
He has been unable to compete for players such as Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, who all joined Manchester United. or Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo, who all joined Manchester City.
When Conte speaks of learning from other managers, he has Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho at the forefront of his mind.
in January, Chelsea signed Ross Barkley from Everton, Emerson Palmieri from Roma and olivier Giroud from Arsenal.
Conte laughed at a suggestion that he should stop improving his players and replied: ‘ You are not the first person to tell me this.’
the friction between the manager and board will hasten his exit, with the 48-year- old italian set to leave at the end of the campaign — if not before.
Former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is the leading candidate to replace him. Enrique has already agreed to take the job, according to reports in Spain, although this is denied by Chelsea.
‘i know him,’ said Conte. ‘When i was the coach of Juventus, he was Roma’s coach. i have spoken with him. We played against each other. He’s a really good person. i have great admiration for Luis Enrique and he is a fantastic coach.
‘He reached his targets with Barcelona and Roma, you could see a well-organised team. i can speak about him very well, as a person and a coach.
‘We do this job, and you must be open and understand the situation can change. A club can take different decisions.
‘it is the same for me. But i am not jealous or envious of other managers. i usually have a great respect.’
Chelsea face West Bromwich Albion tonight seeking to avoid three successive Premier League defeats, having won just twice in 10 games.