Conte resigned to sleepless night on eve of Chelsea debut
ANTONIO CONTE is in mid-sentence when he reclines back in 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!’
At the start of his first season in England, the new Chelsea manager is certainly hitting the right notes. He is embracing aspects of the English game, while some things will remain very much the same.
His personality, for one, is unflinching. On the touchline, we know from the European Championship that he is another jack-in-the-box, gesticulating and barking orders to his players. Against West Ham tomorrow night, Sky Sports may be tempted to record the distance travelled by Conte and the similarly excitable Slaven 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 admitted this had been the most physically testing preseason he has endured.
Conte’s systems — most commonly a highintensity 4-2-4 or a 3-5-2 — demand that his players are mentally and physically at their peak. Conte is no different and tonight, the eve of his Premier League bow, should be a particularly eventful night in the coach’s household.
‘Before the games, usually I don’t sleep a lot,’ the Chelsea manager said. ‘I may sleep for two, three or four hours. Then I wake up, I start to think about the game, and often I have a good idea on the tactical aspect in the early hours of the morning.’
So this evening, his wife Elisabetta can expect the lights to be turned on and the landing hallway to be paced as Conte plots the final details.
This Chelsea side are in urgent need of resuscitation and a fast start is required as Conte seeks to heal the wounds of last season. Under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea won only four of their first 16 Premier League games. Indeed, Chelsea also ended the season with only two wins in their final 10 games under Guus Hiddink.
So Conte needs to build momentum in a campaign where Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger will all be looking to fly out of the blocks.
‘I hate losing,’ Conte said. ‘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.’
At the Euros, he spoke of his well-drilled Italy side as his ‘little war machine’. Now he wants to create the same at Chelsea.
‘It’s better here though, because I can work every day with the players. With Italy, you work 10 days in a month and you can wait four months for the next game. I think in this aspect it’s easier to train the club.’