IFF chief leaning towards Chelsea’s Conte for Italian job

Italian Football Federation president Carlo Tavecchio has suggested Antonio Conte would be his preferred choice as national team manager.

The Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) sacked Gian Piero Ventura after Italy’s failure to qualify for next summer’s World Cup and Tavecchio would like to see Chelsea boss Conte return to his former role.

Conte left for Stamford Bridge after Euro 2016 but, after winning the Premier League title in his first season in west London, has been forced to deny rumours of player unrest this campaign.

Tavecchio said: “We are seeking the best. Allegri, Mancini, Ancelotti... these are the names, I say getting warmer. And Conte? Fire.”

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri, Zenit St Peters- burg’s former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini and ex-Bayern Munich chief Carlo Ancelotti appear to be the other main contenders.

Only Ancelotti, though, is not currently in a job.

Italy lost their World Cup play-off 1-0 on aggregate to Sweden to miss out on the competition for the first time since 1958.

Tavecchio laid the blame for their failure firmly at the door of Ventura, saying: “It is all the fault of Ventura, he chose the staff, he has done all of it. We as a federation have never interfered.”

Conte, meanwhile, hopes Chelsea can replicate last season’s 13-game winning streak in the English Premier League, but acknowledges even that may be not enough to overhaul Manchester City.

Despite dispatching West Brom 4-0 at the Hawthorns to take their sequence of victories to four, Conte’s reigning champions still trail unbeaten leaders City by nine points.

At this stage last term Conte’s Blues were in the midst of a Premier League record-equalling 13 successive wins in a single season to underpin their title triumph, and the Italian feels belief has been enhanced on the back of recent re- sults. However, he accepts that even another lengthy winning streak will not lift them to the division’s summit if City maintain their current form.

Asked whether he felt his team was capable of stringing together another long run of wins, Conte replied: “I hope so because last season we won 13 games in a row and in this league it’s not simple to have this type of run”.