Prankster tries to hand Chelsea boss Conte Man United shirt signed by Mourinho
>> LONDON: Antonio Conte’s press conference on Thursday was gatecrashed by an Italian comedian who attempted to give the Chelsea boss a Manchester United shirt signed by bitter rival Jose Mourinho.
Conte had already spoken of plans to rotate his team ahead of a demanding schedule in which they next play Barcelona, Manchester United and Manchester City when the comedian from Italia 1 satire Le Iene rose from his seat.
He spoke to Conte in Italian, showed him a video on a tablet — United manager Mourinho’s name could be heard via the video — and then presented the shirt to him before it was refused and he was asked to leave.
When Conte saw the shirt he stopped smiling. Mourinho had signed it l ast month, unaware it featured Conte’s name, when approached by comedians from the same programme in Manchester.
Conte and Mourinho have traded poisonous barbs this season, culminating in the pair saying they felt “contempt” for each other last month.
In response to Roy Keane, a one-time opponent with United while Conte played for Juventus, labelling his players “unprofessional”, Conte said: “In every moment I have underlined the commitment of the players.
“In this 18 months, we built a great mentality. In every training session I see great commitment and great behaviour. Under this aspect, I’m very happy.”
Chelsea were scheduled to face Hull City in the FA Cup fifth round last night.
Meanwhile, Leicester boss Claude Puel said Manchester City should have shown his club more respect in their late bid to sign star forward Riyad Mahrez last month.
The Algerian winger was back in the Foxes squad last weekend against City after a self-imposed 10-day absence from the club following the breakdown of a proposed move to the Etihad Stadium.
The Premier League leaders failed to match Leicester’s valuation of the player, understood to be near the £80 million mark, and talks collapsed on the final day of the January transfer window, with Mahrez having submitted a transfer request.
“We had some solicitation of another club, and to make solicitation just one or two days before the end of the transfer window, I don’t know if it’s normal,” said the Leicester boss.
“I cannot suffer this situation because other teams make this thing against us. It was important to stay united within the club, the fans, the players.
“We don’t have a lot of players with the same quality like Riyad. For some other teams, it is not a difficulty to replace their players.
“We’re not a squad like some great teams at the top of the table. We need to manage better and we need also perhaps some respect from others.”