This time it’s PERSONAL
Conte and Mourinho go to war as Italian says he worked ‘miracles’ following Jose’s exit from Chelsea
ANTONIO CONTE has hit back at Jose Mourinho in the run up to today’s clash with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge by saying that Chelsea’s title win last season was a ‘miracle’ given that he had more or less the same players who had finished tenth the season before, under Mourinho.
Conte has insisted that the rebuilding job after Mourinho’s departure – he was sacked in December 2015 – is still underway. And the Chelsea manager also says that he has told owner Roman Abramovich the truth about where the club stands and how long it will take to revive it.
Conte said: ‘Last season was a miracle. It was a miracle, because we had the same players that the season before finished 10th. Okay our transfer market was with Michy Batshuayi, David Luiz, N’Golo Kante and Marcos Alonso.
‘But if I don’t remember badly, you [the media] were the first to say Chelsea is prepared [in 201617] to become worse than the previous season. I remember the headlines. I have to say when I make mistakes, but also you have to do the same.
‘Don’t forget, and I repeat, that in the last four, five years we lost a lot of important players for Chelsea: Drogba, Cech, Lampard, Terry, Ivanovic, Mikel. Matic was last season. But I’m talking about players that wrote history in this club, because they played for many years and they played Champions League games, semi-finals, finals. Now we are restarting to build something important, to try to put the club again to be able to face this type of situation.’
Conte’s comments are likely to annoy the United boss, with Conte having previously said that the club couldn’t afford another ‘Mourinho season’, referring to the calamitous title defence of 2015-16.
Asked whether Abramovich was aware of his assessment of the club, Conte said: ‘I always like to tell the truth, first of all (to) my club. I think the most important thing is to try always to tell the truth. Sometimes it’s better a good lie than a bad truth, but in my opinion, I’m a person who always prefers to tell a bad truth than a good lie. In this way I have the respect of the people.’
ANTONIO CONTE dined with Claudio Ranieri two weeks ago while the Nantes manager was in London for the FIFA awards.
Ranieri is one of the few fellow managers Conte would count as a friend and they compared notes and caught up with Ranieri’s progress in France since he was sacked by Leicester last year, having won the Premier League in 2016.
So it was natural to wonder whether Ranieri had taken time in the meal to warn Conte just what happens to managers who dare to win the Premier League. It isn’t just Ranieri. Jose Mourinho lasted seven months after his 2015 win, Manuel Pellegrini 12 months after his 2014 win and Alex Ferguson retired after his 2013 win.
‘I have to keep my fingers crossed,’ said Conte, smiling broadly.
Certainly he is displaying none of the signs of a man who fears for his job. Owner Roman Abramovich was at the training ground last week but it was prior to the 3-0 mauling in Rome and it was said to be one of his amicable visits. The team meeting after the Roma calamity was a more difficult day at Cobham and as ferocious as it has been under Conte.
There was no hiding from his anger. ‘He killed the players,’ said one source. Those who work closely with Conte simply steer clear of him for a day or two after a defeat like that. The manager himself admits he is not polite company in those circumstances.
As to whether Chelsea and Conte are at breaking point, it is probably too early to call definitively.
They clearly stand at a fork in the road: one narrow route leads to redemption and another, broader, well-trod path leads to a familiar end. Think Carlo Ancelotti’s 201011 season and the drawn-out departure having won the Premier League and FA Cup double just a year before.
Certainly in August it seemed Chelsea and Conte were heading for divorce. Those who speak with the board at Chelsea say they did little to hide their irritation at Conte and his constant complaints over the transfer strategy.
One board member was furious and the impression was that, having attempted to take on Abramovich’s representatives, Conte would eventually pay with his job.
Tempers have calmed somewhat. And if Chelsea need reminding of what a troublesome manager really looks like, they need look only to the opposition bench today.
Conte was explosive on Thursday in the team meeting but his anger passes. Whereas some felt that Mourinho would hold grudges and criticise one player to get at another.
Conte’s team meetings are cathartic. He will take an individual player into his office and spend half an hour going through his game. But once the anger has been expressed, it is forgotten.
His agenda is fairly clear. Indeed on Friday he spelt it out: the Chelsea he inherited from Mourinho needed a massive reboot. And it will takes a number of years to reach the level where they are potential European champions.
Conte wants the board to know that last year’s title win was an over-achievement. Conte compares it to Leicester’s.
‘I said a lot of times that last season we won the title and reached the FA Cup final with only 13 players, only 13 players played regularly,’ he said. ‘Last season was a miracle because we had the same players that the season before had finished 10th.
‘OK, our transfer market was with Batshuayi, Luiz, Kante and Alonso. But if I don’t remember badly, you [the media] were the first to say Chelsea is prepared [in 2016-17] to become worse than the previous season. I remember the headlines. I have to say when I make mistakes, but also you have to do the same.
‘Don’t forget, and I repeat, that in the last four, five years we lost a lot of important players for Chelsea: Drogba, Cech, Lampard, Terry, Ivanovic, Mikel. Matic was last season.
‘But I’m talking about players that wrote history in this club, because they played for many years and they played Champions League games, semi-finals, finals.
‘Now we are restarting to build something important, to try to put the club again to be able to face this type of situation. We must be ready to do something special. But we must be realistic and to understand that we are building, creating a base. We are creating a foundation. In this season we bought five new players and we have 16 senior players. Leicester did a great miracle, because to win when usually you are used to fighting relegation is a miracle, a big miracle. I think Claudio did a fantastic job, incredible. ‘At the same time you have to understand there are different miracles that are the same miracles. For Chelsea, who are used to winning the league in the past, also you have to understand when you win the league, what time is a good time to win the league or when it is a surprise. ‘And if this is a surprise [last season], it means you are doing a miracle. I think last season was a miracle for us. Chelsea’s name sometimes covers the miracle, only because your name is Chelsea. When you finish 10th, you have the opposite of the miracle.’ There is some merit in this argument, but it ignores the fact that Chelsea were also Premier League champions in 2014-15 under Mourinho, so not quite as abject as Conte suggests. In saying as much, Conte isn’t begging for time. In his view, he will work as hard as he can to reboot the team over the next seven months or, if he survives, 19 months of his contract. And if he then passes the project on to another, so be it. He knows there will no shortage of takers for his services.
‘Honestly, I think I earned my time here with the win of last season,’ he said. ‘I earned my time. I don’t like to ask for time. I like to tell the truth [even] if someone doesn’t agree with me. I don’t want time. For what? The situation is clear. My task is to work and to put all myself for this club. Then if it’s enough, OK. It won’t be enough? OK. The same. I’ll continue to live.’
Asked whether Abramovich and key board members Michael Emenalo and Marina Granovskaia were aware of his assessment of the club and were realistic about this season, Conte said: ‘I always like to tell the truth, first of all [to] my club. The most important thing is to try always to tell the truth.
‘Sometimes it’s better a good lie than a bad truth, but I’m a person who always prefers to tell a bad truth than a good lie. In this way I have the respect of the people.
‘But I don’t think this [assessment of the club] is a bad truth. I think this is the truth. We’re trying to build something. It’s important to have the patience and then to have the time to do this. I understand that it’s not for all to have patience. But patience is a big quality.’
At which point, Conte laughs at the irony of his homily. He knows he is not known for patience. But somehow he and Chelsea have to fuse long-term building with the short-term victories. Starting today against the last man who tried.