How Conte turned Chelsea into champions
He inherited a rabble and turned them into a band of brothers, he dealt with Costa and solved the Terry problem . . . and he did it all with dignity, joy and class — truly Chelsea’s boss is...
IT WAS chaos in the corridor upstairs at the Hawthorns. Diego Costa and David Luiz had burst into Antonio Conte’s press conference, laughing and shouting and waving their hands urgently to signal that the questions were over and that it was time for them and their manager to get on the bus so that their title party could continue on the way back to London.
It was nearly midnight by now and Conte was swept along by a human tide of happy players, staff and security men towards the top of the stairs that led down to the coach where the rest of the players were waiting. But then the Chelsea boss insisted on coming back. He had one last obligation to fulfil.
This time, Conte was bundled into a side-room with a smaller group of Sunday newspaper journalists. A couple of machines belonging to sound engineers were stacked in one corner, their lights blinking. A few scaffolding poles had been rigged up, as if they were stopping the ceiling from falling. There was a red fire extinguisher hanging on a wall.
Costa, Luiz and John Terry all forced their way into the room, too, and Costa stood in the middle of the huddle of journalists. Conte began to answer one last round of questions. Costa was not impressed by the delay to departure.
‘One minute,’ said Costa, wagging his finger imperiously.
‘Now it’s important to celebrate,’ said Conte, ‘to enjoy this moment.’
From the back, Luiz interrupted and began the countdown to the expiry of Costa’s deadline. ‘Ten seconds,’ shouted Luiz. ‘This season was very difficult for us,’ continued Conte. ‘It’s great to reach this target and also to enjoy it with my players.’
Costa, who had stripped to his pants in the wild celebrations in the dressing room, and was still wired, interjected again. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘Twenty seconds,’ Luiz yelled. ‘I have to say thanks to my players for their commitment, for their work-rate,’ said Conte. ‘Diego No 1,’ shouted Costa. ‘Thirty seconds,’ said Luiz. ‘And for the attitude they showed me,’ said Conte. ‘I love you,’ Costa told his coach. ‘Last question, let’s go,’ said Luiz. Steve Atkins, Chelsea’s director of communications, who was standing next to Conte, was a strong arbiter and made it clear there would be a few more questions. Conte, who had just become the fourth Italian manager to win the Premier League, continued, unperturbed.
Costa simmered. Luiz stopped his countdown. At the back, Terry, his Chelsea career almost over, leaned against a wall and watched the madness unfold with the wry detachment of a veteran, knowing this would probably be his last title. And right at the core of all this mayhem, Conte grinned.
That has been the story of Conte’s season. He brought order to chaos. He inherited a team that had rebelled against the rule of Jose Mourinho, downed tools and finished 10th in the Premier League.
And Conte turned them into a band of brothers, a team who were the class of the field in English football’s top flight this season, a team who won the title with two games to spare.
His man-management, his deployment of his resources and his tactical awareness have been masterful. Several times, he has had to wrestle Chelsea’s season back on track and he has done it calmly and cleverly, never pouring petrol on the flames, always dousing them.
There was the time when he made the now famous switch to a 3-4-3 formation after September’s away defeat by Arsenal. That set the template for Chelsea’s season and also allowed them to move on from their dependence on Terry, which was growing more problematic the older their captain became.
When Costa started rocking the boat, apparently tempted by a lucrative move to China, Conte, 47, was strong but dignified. He knew it was a test of his strength. He did not try to humiliate Costa. Conte slipped a velvet glove over his iron fist. He knew his player and he made the problem go away.
And later, when Chelsea lost to Crystal Palace and Manchester United in the space of 15 days in April and Spurs got within touching distance at the top of the table, Conte made tough selection decisions in the FA Cup semi-final
against Tottenham that paid off. Chelsea never looked back.
And he has lit up our league with his enthusiasm and his joy and his intensity and his class. Remember how he applauded the Middlesbrough fans for their support of their doomed team earlier this month. Remember how, on Friday night, he made sure that all his backroom staff got together with him for a picture on the pitch at the Hawthorns.
Conte, who has now won a league title in his last four seasons in club management, shares the glory readily. It is one of the reasons he is held in such great affection at Chelsea. Stories of his generosity and thoughtfulness abound.
He has perfected the rare trick of maintaining his authority over the players while at the same time being one of them. So when they drowned him in champagne at West Brom, it did not strike a dissonant note. How could it have when he had spent much of the preceding hour leaping into their arms in celebration, giving himself a fat lip in the process?
That was also why he was unfazed by the interjections of Costa and Luiz as we stood in that room and Costa swung on the scaffolding, doing pull-ups as Conte talked.
At one point, Costa picked up the fire extinguisher and pointed it at the huddle of journalists with Conte at its centre. He had his finger on the trigger but he did not squeeze it. After a few seconds, he lowered it and placed it carefully back on its hook. With Conte, the players know there is a line and not to cross it.
And so the questions went merrily on. Conte, dressed in a tracksuit now because he said his suit was ‘a disaster’ after the celebrations in the dressing room, gave reassurances he would still be in charge at Stamford Bridge next season and moved on to the prospect of winning the Double in his first season in English football.
Someone mentioned the players now had two weeks’ rest before the FA Cup final against Arsenal.
‘Rest?’ said Luiz. ‘Rest for you. We train every day.’
‘Yes, rest for you,’ said Conte. ‘The players know we have to work to prepare in the right way these last two league games against Watford and then Sunderland.
‘To enjoy and to celebrate because that’s very important. When you work hard it’s important to celebrate and then to prepare in the right way for the final of the FA Cup, because we have the opportunity to fight to win the Double.’
‘Finish, man,’ said Costa, growing impatient again.
On cue, Conte was asked whether it had been difficult dealing with Costa earlier in the season. As always, he was the soul of diplomacy. ‘I think in every season there are moments you have to find always the right solution,’ said Conte. ‘For this reason I have to say thanks to my players. They showed me in every moment great attitude, great work-rate and to trust in my work. It’s right now to celebrate.’
That’s Conte all over. He shows but he never tells. He acknowledges problems but he never lets them escape into the public glare. To criticise players openly, as Jose Mourinho has done this season, would be anathema to him.
Luiz wanted to draw things to a close again. He did a loud impersonation of an alarm going off. Conte ignored it and thought ahead to what might be achieved in the Champions League and whether his players could get better.
‘I think if you can continue with these players, you can improve a lot. Now they know my idea, I know them, the characteristics of my players. And we can improve.’ ‘One last question,’ said Atkins. ‘Oh my God, man,’ shouted Costa. Conte ignored him. He was asked if he was confident he could keep this group of players together.
‘I think the club want to fight to win every competition,’ said Conte. ‘For this reason we try to keep the best players.’
The questions were over. Conte smiled and took care to say his thanks. And then, as Costa and Luiz and Terry followed him, he walked out of the door. It was over when Conte wanted it to be over.