At Tottenham it’s not a tragedy if you don’t win a title. It is here
Antonio Conte takes advice on the quality of the coffee, receives a positive answer and orders an espresso. He finds a sweetener among the sachets and stirs it in.
He takes a sip and gathers his thoughts. Where was he? He was addressing what has become a moot point about nathaniel Chalobah and tiemoue Bakayoko.
Fuelled by a shot of caffeine he forges into areas of expectation and discipline and talks of ‘miracles’, ‘tragedy’ and ‘anarchy’.
First, though, Chalobah and Bakayoko and the trouble with young players.
‘Honestly,’ said Conte, ‘ there is a great difference between these players. You are talking about one who has played with Monaco, who has maybe 100 appearances, who has played in the Champions League and has played regularly. try to understand the difference before you judge.
‘Sometimes young players think they can play easily in the first team, but that’s not true.
‘they arrive at 20, 21 and they say, “i want to play regularly”, and a lot of the time they are in a great club and it’s difficult.
‘Look at Real Madrid and many great teams. the young player wants to play regularly, he wants to go on loan. He doesn’t want to suffer.
‘Last season we had a lot of young players and Chalobah wanted to go and play, Kurt Zouma wanted to go and play, Bertrand traore wanted to go and play. nathan Ake is a good guy. Asmir Begovic wanted to go and play.
‘Sometimes i think the young players lose their patience very quickly, because of parents or the people around these players.
‘the advisers are not right. You have to fight with this. the first thing players should have is good patience. trust the club and work very hard to know that to play at this level you must be stronger.
‘i am talking about good players and you ask me why we sold players or sent them on loan.
‘At one point you have to take a decision and understand what is best for the club. every single player wants to play regularly. But i have to pick 11.’
Chelsea paid Monaco £40million for Bakayoko, who is four months older than Chalobah, the latter coming through the ranks and operating in a similar midfield role.
Chalobah refused to sign a new contract and requested a move. When he joined Watford for £5m, Chelsea were accused of failing to support the players graduating from their acclaimed academy.
‘i don’t spend money because i like to spend money,’ said Conte. ‘every team has to understand their ambitions. if their ambitions are to win or fight for the title or the Champions League, you must buy expensive players.
‘there has been a miracle with Leicester and us, because we won the title with only 13 players, but if you want to compete in england you have to be strong. the strong teams are getting stronger because they are putting a lot of money into the market.’
Daniel Levy, chairman of tottenham and yet to make a signing this summer, has claimed the levels of spending are unsustainable.
‘My question is this,’ said Conte. ‘What are tottenham’s expectations? if they don’t win the title it’s not a a trophy, it is different at Stamford Bridge. Conte cannot relax because he won the title. He must deliver again and Chelsea believe this creative pressure is one reason for their success, with 14 major trophies since Roman Abramovich arrived in 2003.
Conte seems to revel in this habitat, enforcing his principles with strong decisions, such as exiling nemanja Matic and top scorer Diego Costa.
‘i don’t think i am a tough manager,’ said the italian when asked about his style, but he does insist the manager must have ‘ total control’ inside the dressing room.
‘otherwise there is anarchy,’ he said. ‘When i was a footballer, my coaches Marcello Lippi, Giovanni trapattoni, Arrigo Sacchi and Carlo Ancelotti were totally in control.
‘if you lose control, anything can happen. Prepare to die. You can see it on the pitch and probably you will be sacked in two months, if you are lucky three months. Your end is decided.’
Conte admits it is more difficult in the modern age, when the power lies firmly with the players but he laughs as he recalls fighting with the same emotions.
‘When you are a player, you are selfish,’ he said. ‘i was selfish. Sometimes i score a goal and we lose the game and i am happy. it’s a pity we lost but, hey, i played very well and i scored.
‘it is my job to help my players open their vision. Personal success if very important but most important is the team success.’
team success and the quality of the coffee.