The tactical tweak that has placed Conte on the cusp of glory
IT IS hard to imagine it is only just over seven months ago that Antonio Conte look beleaguered and Arsene Wenger stood beaming in pride as the Emirates hailed a renewed, restored Arsenal team who would no longer be intimidated.
Conte looked lost in England that afternoon of September 24, his team hopelessly exposed by a quicker, more aggressive Arsenal team who raced into a three-goal lead before half-time.
It was the day that changed the title race but just not in the way Arsenal imagined.
Wenger was as buoyant as he gets. ‘I would be tempted to say it was one of the best performances in recent years,’ he said.
Conte, by contrast, wore the wary look of a man who knew he was being hunted. There was anger, too. ‘I think we are a great team only on paper, not on the pitch,’ he said.
‘I prefer to be a great team on the pitch because that is the truth. The pitch is the most important thing, not words. I think there are many difficulties but if we understand this, I think we are in a great position to recover.’
Branislav Ivanovic was horribly exposed against Arsenal. The next time he would start for Chelsea was in the FA Cup third round against Peterborough and he would soon be off to Zenit St Petersburg. But Gary Cahill also had a calamitous game and N’Golo Kante was ponderous.
The consensus was that the malaise of the 2015-16 season had yet to be shaken off. In the second half, Conte made his switch to a back three. Glenn Hoddle, commentating on TV wondered if they might make it permanent.
What followed was a tactical masterclass producing 13 consecutive victories. Chelsea could be crowned champions at West Brom on Friday and in a season in which Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho were meant to be the dominant forces, that is an extraordinary achievement.
The back three has, of course, been the key. Many were convinced that Conte had always wanted to impose it at Chelsea and only held back because he thought the players would struggle. Those that know him well disagree.
Giuseppe Cartisano, 74, who signed Conte for Lecce is often in touch with the Chelsea manager. He insists that 4-2-4 is his default system and that is what he was attempting early on at Chelsea and partly why the team looked vulnerable.
‘When Antonio went to Juventus as coach, he sent me a message,’ said Cartisano. ‘So I asked him: “How do you think you will play?” and he said 4-2-4. After some days, he signed Andrea Pirlo so I sent him message: “Now, how do you want to play?”. Because with Pirlo it’s very difficult to play 4-2-4. And that’s when he started to play 3-5-2, because it was impossible to play 4-2-4 with Pirlo.’
After the Arsenal defeat, Chelsea’s players were about to discover what Conte does best. The squad, well drilled under Mourinho, have been surprised to discover that Conte can take tactical preparation to another level altogether. There are more meetings and more time spent on the training ground walking through systems.
Giorgio Perinetti, 66, is now sporting director at Venezia but met Conte while on the technical staff at Juventus. He convinced Bari to give him his second managerial job after he had failed in Serie B with Arezzo and then convinced Siena to take him on after he had failed again at Atalanta. He knows Conte and his methods better than almost anyone.
‘His work ethic is very strong and at Chelsea, because they’re not in the Champions League, when he is able to work all week with team on the match, he is great,’ said Perinetti.
‘Leonardo Bonucci says that when you play a match coached by Antonio during the week, when matchday comes, you feel like you’ve already played this game.
‘He prepares so well that you feel you know everything.
‘He had great coaches in Italy, as he was coached by Carlo Ancelotti, Marcelo Lippi, Giovanni Trapattoni, Arrigo Sacchi for the national team. From Trapattoni, he probably took the Juve mentality of making sure you win. And from Lippi, he takes the ability to manage the team best.’
It is a golden age for Italian coaching. Ancelotti has just won the Bundesliga while Max Allegri, Conte’s successor is about to secure the Serie A title and may win the Champions League. Even Conte’s former assistant at Juve, Massimo Carrera, is top of the league in Russia with Spartak Moscow.
Long before the UEFA A-Licence was conceived, Italians required their coaches to complete 900 hours or course work and a dissertation to work in football. Conte’s was entitled: ‘Considerations on 4-3-1-2 and the didactic use of video.’
The ability to adapt to new circumstances, not least a 3-0 defeat by Arsenal, is the key to success, then Conte has passed his latest test with flying colours.