IN MY HEART I’M ALWAYS A HERO
Conte: I couldn’t have done more to solve Chelsea’s problems
Exactly how antonio conte fell from chelsea darling to the brink of exile in the time it takes the earth to orbit the sun remains a mystery to him, or so he says.
‘I must be honest, I don’t know about this,’ said conte, shaking his head and tiptoeing around how the Fa cup final against Manchester United is expected to mark the end of his two-year reign.
‘For sure, I didn’t change my commitment for the club, my commitment has always been the same. I am pleased with my work.
‘this season, I worked better than last season. For sure, I worked harder.’
you only need to go back a year to find conte launching into the crowd after goals and celebrating his Premier league triumph with an inflatable crown on his head.
‘I don’t know if something has changed, and last season we were heroes for chelsea’s fans and now our status has changed,’ he said.
‘But in my soul and my heart, I am always a hero because I gave 120 per cent, also this season to solve the problems.’
Even by chelsea’s standards of expertise in this area this demise has been a lesson in the art of selfdestruction from the moment they failed to seal the Double.
arsenal beat them 2-1 in the Fa cup final, Victor Moses was sent off and scorer Diego costa paused on his way out to tell Spanish reporters he would not be sold to china and would only leave for atletico Madrid. costa got his way but not before a circus triggered by conte’s infamous text message confirming he was not part of his future plans.
Of the 18-man squad selected for last year’s cup final, eight are unavailable: sold or on loan, or ostracised in the case of David luiz.
Nemanja Matic’s transfer to Manchester United sparked discontent from the manager’s office similar to Jose Mourinho’s when Petr cech joined arsenal.
conte went silent in midsummer amid interest from Inter Milan but they were unable to match chelsea’s new contract offer which was worth £9million a year but tellingly no longer included an extension beyond 2019.
He became more distant and brooding and his Italian coaches closed ranks around him.
Brutal training sessions did not go down well with players when the champions league meant they had less time to recover.
and, as results deteriorated, so did his temper and acid tongue.
luiz was cut adrift after defeat by Roma and a disagreement about the make-up of the back three. He was recalled at Watford when andreas christensen was injured and chelsea lost 4- 1, arguably their worst performance of the season when tiemoue Bakayoko was sent off in the first half. Bakayoko, the £40m replacement for Matic, has struggled to adapt to English football. So has alvaro Morata, the club’ s £ 60m recordsigning who is now being kept out of the team by Olivier Giroud, signed in January from arsenal where he could not get into the team.
Few of those signed since the title was won can be considered a success with the possible exception of antonio Rudiger.
Players do not expect conte to be in charge next season. Stories out of Brazil this week claimed luiz was happy to stay if conte moved on. He is settled in london and has opened a restaurant with Willian, the club’s Players’ Player of the year.
Willian laughed when asked about conte and said: ‘Oh boy, do you really want me to tell you?’
Eden Hazard and thibaut courtois will not sign new deals until they know what the future holds. Neither are keen to continue with conte. Michy Batshuayi could not wait to join Borussia Dortmund on loan and Kenedy was sent to Newcastle. Both have thrived.
When chelsea imploded under Mourinho two years ago, senior players later admitted to losing a fraction of their focus and desire.
conte said yesterday that blame for finishing fifth must be shared equally between him, the players