Conte tipped to take over Italy top job
LONDON: Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is the Italian Football Federation’s preferred option to coach the national team, the governing body’s vice-commissioner Alessandro Costacurta said.
Conte coached Italy from 2014 and led them to the quarter-finals of the 2016 European Championships before joining Chelsea later that year, winning the Premier League title in his debut season.
The London outfit have faltered this campaign as they lie fifth in the standings, 19 points behind leaders Manchester City, leading to uncertainty over Conte’s future.
“I haven’t chosen yet but I think Conte is the one who could do the best,” former AC Milan defender Costacurta told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
“(Conte) has already shown he knows how to be national team coach while the others haven’t yet.”
Costacurta added that ex-Man City boss Roberto Mancini and former AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti are also being considered for the national team role.
Italy sacked Gian Piero Ventura in November after the team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia with Under-21 coach Luigi Di Biagio currently in charge.
Italy, who will miss the global tournament for the first time since 1958, face Argentina and England in international friendlies next month. ●●Under-pressure West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Pardew has the experience to handle the increasing scrutiny surrounding the relegation-threatened club, according to the Premier League team’s former boss Tony Pulis.
Pardew, who replaced Pulis in November, has failed to improve the club’s fortunes with West Brom bottom of the league after winning just three of 28 matches, and are on a four-game losing streak.
Media reports suggest Pardew will be sacked if West Brom fail to beat Watford on Saturday, but Pulis, who has been through bad periods with several former clubs, believes the pressure is a routine part of being a manager.
“I know Alan, he’s got thick enough skin to cope with anything that’s thrown at him,” Pulis told Sky Sports.
“(Arsenal manager) Arsene (Wenger) loses the cup, nobody talks about him getting there, they talk about the performance and the defeat, so it’s his turn to get criticism.
“It was Jose (Mourinho’s) turn the week before.” - Reuters