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| Antonio Conte |
Antonio Conte left Chelsea FC after two seasons as head
coach of the London Club. The now formermanager arrived at the club in 2015,
and went on to win the English Premier League title on his first season pulling
the team up from its previous season’s 10th position when it was in
the hands of now Manchester United club manager Jose Mourinho. And, recently in
May 2018 Conte also won the domestic league Cup (FA Cup) beating a charged
Manchester Utd squad in the cup final. However, the club management thought his
efforts in leadership weren’t good enough to spare him the sack of the Roman
Abramovich era, announcing on Friday the 13th of July his departure
on a £9 million compensation payment. His departure makes the 8th
full-time manager to be fired since Roman Abramovich purchased the club in the
year 2003 and the drop has been received with varying reactions with most
indicating that dropping the manager was a huge mistake for the club, basing on
his coaching experience, and success rate as manager in the last five years,
(four league titles and a domestic cup), compared to former Napoli’s manager Maurizio Sarri:
Here are some quick facts & stats of Conte;
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Record 30 wins in the EPL during the 2016-17
season
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Premier League win percentage of 67.1%
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In his 2 seasons won 69 matches, drew 20 lost 17
of his 106 matches
Maurizo Sarri (Known for
preferring substance over style, being a tactician, and plays immensely
attacking football – nicknamed ‘Sarri-Ball’)
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0 Trophies won as team coach
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Empoli promotion playoff final (Division 1
football)
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Led Empoli into Serie A promotion
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A hailed Seria A 15th position finish
with a tight budget squad
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2 & 3 finishes in the Serie A with Napoli
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Manager of the year Serie A 2016/17 Napoli
What might have pushed Chelsea’s
management into making the decision to sack Antonio Conte is the teams’ failure
to qualify for the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League- finishing on the 5th
place, 30 points behind log leaders Manchester City, and stifled success in the
Champions League last season which saw the team failing to get past the last
16, losing on an aggregate of 4-1 to Barcelona. Also, unexpected back-to-back
league loses, notably at the close of the 2017-18 EPL season to middle teams to
Watford 3-0, and Bournemouth might also had been major ‘push factors’ along
with redundant departures of high profile players, Nemanja Matic (now at
Manchester Utd), and Diego Costa’s return to his former club (Atletico Madrid).
Antonio Conte’s Future?
Roberto Frabbricini head of the
Italian Football Association reported that the former Chelsea manager Antonio
Conte is ‘eager’ to lead the Italian National Team for a second time.
Antonio Conte’s EPL Records
Matches
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76
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Wins
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51
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Draws
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15
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Goals For
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147
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Goals Against
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71
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Manager of the Month
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3
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Manager of the Season
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1
2016/17
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Premier League Champion 1
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2016/17
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Prospects of successor, Sarri
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| Maurizio Sarri |
Well, Maurizio Sarri, though armed with little experience of
managing high profile teams, is known for challenging the odds and winning,
which means he might stand as a good pick for the team.
Overall, he has been described as tactful and a coach in the
purest form. He is also known for the best defensive tactics in the Serie A which
might see a much awaited improvement of Chelsea’s defense which has for quite a
long time been under scrutiny even since Jose Mourinho’s last stint at Chelsea,
and worsening in some periods during Conte’s era.
Maurizo dragged along his talisman, Jorginho who holds 9
Serie A of Top 10 single game passing records (mostly forward passing).
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| Maurizio Sarri & Jorginho Image |
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