Conte told to pump up the volume by his dad after Watford debacle
ANTONIO CONTE has promised as explosive a performance on the touchline of Old Trafford as ever after revealing he received a telling-off from his father.
After Chelsea lost 4-1 to Watford in the Premier League at the start of February, Conte was reprimanded by his dad Cosimo for showing no rage or passion at Vicarage Road.
The Italian has gained a reputation in England for his energetic behaviour and brought back the anger for their Champions League clash with Barcelona on Tuesday.
With Chelsea travelling to Manchester United today, where Conte will share a touchline with Jose Mourinho, the 48-year-old has no intention of toning it down. ‘My wife and my daughter start to be worried when they don’t see me very active,’ Conte confessed.
‘They start to be worried. Because that means I’m not happy.
‘They wouldn’t recognise me. A lot of time I start the game with this idea: to try to enjoy the game, to stay sitting down, to enjoy the game in this way. But it’s not the same.
‘Not the same for me or my players. Especially for my players, and for the fans, and my father. My father watched the game against Watford and phoned me up and said, “I didn’t see you with the right anger, with the right passion. You finished the game with a voice, and that’s not for you, this”. He told me that.
‘Maybe in the future, when I become older, for sure I have to try and stay more calm. But I think, also, this is my strength. To stay on the
touchline and push my players, to push myself.’
Conte’s father had a huge impact on his football career. Cosimo ran his first club, AS Juventina Lecce, and was the one who made him the impassioned man he is now.
‘You have to know that my first owner, when I started to play football, it was my father,’ Conte said. ‘He was the owner, the coach, the kit man, the groundsman. I spent my life from the start on the pitch, following the team of my father. For this reason, I have to thank him for this passion, for the passion I have for this sport. I started very young.
‘When I started as an assistant coach, I remember in some games I shouted more than the coach. A lot of times, at the end of the games, I had to say sorry. But this is my way to live the game.’
After a passionate performance against Barcelona led to a 1-1 draw, Conte was asked whether it is big games such as this that make it easy for him to get excited.
‘You must have passion in every game,’ he said. ‘If you play against Barcelona, or a lower team, it doesn’t matter.
‘In that moment, I’m alone. I don’t see what happens on the other bench.’