CONTE SHOWS MIDDLE FINGER
THERE was no love lost between Antonio Conte and former employers Juventus last night as the fiery coach flashed his middle finger at Andrea Agnelli.
Juventus president Agnelli appointed Conte as his side’s coach in 2011 and the pair won three Serie A titles together.
But Conte’s decision to resign suddenly as pre-season began in 2014 saw their relationship collapse and Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final was their latest reunion.
The coming together saw Juventus knock out Conte’s Inter Milan, with a 0-0 draw on the night sealing a 2-1 aggregate win.
Local media reports detail the feisty Derby d’Italia with fans berating Conte outside the stadium before the game and the former Chelsea boss chuntering away with opposition defender Leonardo Bonucci early on. Sky Sport Italia claim a scuffle broke out between the benches at half-time which Agnelli became involved in.
As the break began, Conte was caught on camera flashing a middle finger towards the Allianz Stadium directors’ box.
And the full-time whistle saw a jubilant Agnelli rush down the steps from his seat, directing some stern words towards the pitch.
The Italian reportedly bellowed: “F*** off, shut up, a**hole.”
Following his side’s Coppa exit, Conte claimed Juventus were the chief antagonists despite his own actions.
The 51-year-old told Rai Sport: ““They should tell the truth, the fourth official saw what happened the whole game, they should be more polite.
“There is nothing to say but more sportsmanship and respect is needed for those who work.”
The result leaves Conte under further pressure having failed to win a trophy in his 18 months as Inter boss, with his side already out of Europe.
Ahead of a pair of crucial matches, versus Lazio and AC Milan, he said: “In my opinion we should have capitalised on the chances that we created and it’s a shame because over the 180 minutes we saw two teams fighting to the end.
“We paid for some gifts that we gave Juventus along the way. Until the end we tried to score because we knew that by scoring one goal it would cause them trouble.
“I am sorry because these games are played over
180 minutes, we tried to overturn the result immediately but we couldn’t do it.
“We have to learn from our mistakes and start over and try again.”
South African coach Pitso Mosimane is under increasing pressure from millions of passionate Al Ahly supporters to claim the bronze medal when the Egyptian side faces Brazilian club SE Palmeiras in the play-off for third place in the Fifa Club World Cup today.
The Red Devils failed to secure a maiden appearance in the final following a narrow 2-0 loss to European champions Bayern Munich on Monday in a match where they earned plaudits for holding their own against visibly superior opponents But the pressure is now on Mosimane to at least match the class of 2006 that claimed third place and was inspired by tournament top scorer Mohamed Aboutrika.
A section of the fans and some club legends have questioned Mosimane’s tactics and he can silence them with a bronze medal today.
Egyptian journalist Omar Elbanouby of Akhbar Elyom newspaper said the Al Ahly fans expected the club to beat Bayern and progress to the final. They have the same belief as Al Ahly prepare to face Palmeiras.
“Al Ahly fans always trust the team‚ even against Bayern. The majority of the fans said ‘yes we can beat Bayern’ and this time they really trust that Ahly will win the game against Palmeiras and the bronze medal‚” said Elbanouby.
“I think that the team has a good chance to win the match against Palmeiras and win the bronze medal of Fifa Club World Cup‚ even though Fifa have prevented two important players from the game in Mahmoud Abdel Soliman and Hussein El Shahat [from playing against Palmeiras].
“But we have more and more players like
Mohamed Sherif‚ Taher Mohamed‚ Walter Bwalya and Marwan Mohsen. Fans trust coach Mosimane and it goes without saying that him and the technical team have studied Palmeiras and they have prepared the team well. In my opinion‚ Palmeiras is a good team with a good coach‚ Abel Ferreira‚ but Al Ahly can win the game.”
Fifa announced on Wednesday that El Shahaat and Soliman have been banned from participating in the Palmeiras game after television cameras captured them shaking hands with the Ahly supporters in the stands‚ breaking protocols. Aboutrika was also in the stands.
After the defeat to Bayern this week‚ Mosimane said they would correct their mistakes and assess the strong points and weaknesses of the Brazilian opponents.
“It’s my first defeat since I have been at Al Ahly in four to five months. You have to understand how I feel because I hate losing. The first thing is to look at our mistakes and the second thing is to look at the good things that happened.
“Even in defeat‚ there are good things that hap- pened and the third is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents.
“That’s important before motivation‚ because you can work on the motivation of the players and work on the mental side‚ but the most important thing is what is happening on the pitch.
“Maybe we will give other guys an opportunity‚ but you must be careful because sometimes it’s not about giving other guys a chance to play. It’s important to win the match.
“We get the balance of giving other guys a chance‚ but don’t forget to win the match.”