Today is the 48th birthday of Chelsea manager and former Italy CT Antonio Conte.
Born in Lecce in 1969, Conte made his name as a hard-working midfielder, starting his career with his hometown club.
In 1991 he earned a move to Juventus, making his debut in the Derby della Mole against Torino.
His hard-working style was the foundation for Marcello Lippi’s great side of the mid 90s, and Conte was named club captain in 1996, though he was later replaced in the role by Alessandro Del Piero.
Today is the 48th birthday of Chelsea manager and former Italy CT Antonio Conte.
Born in Lecce in 1969, Conte made his name as a hard-working midfielder, starting his career with his hometown club.
In 1991 he earned a move to Juventus, making his debut in the Derby della Mole against Torino.
His hard-working style was the foundation for Marcello Lippi’s great side of the mid 90s, and Conte was named club captain in 1996, though he was later replaced in the role by Alessandro Del Piero.
Conte made over 300 appearances for the Bianconeri, winning five Scudetti, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia before retiring in 2004.
He then moved into coaching, and admits now that even on the pitch he was always a tactician.
With his role as a player having been largely to win the ball and give it to Del Piero or Zinedine Zidane, Conte knew the importance of hard work and playing for the team, and he transferred that to the dugout.
After working as Luigi De Canio’s assistant at Siena, Conte was given his first role as a head Coach at Serie B side Arezzo.
He wasn’t immediately successful, however, and was sacked after just four months. However, as often happens in Italy he was brought back when the team’s fortunes failed to improve, and Conte took 19 points from the next seven matches.
It wasn’t enough though, and Arezzo were ultimately relegated to Serie C1, now known as Lega Pro.
A move to Bari followed, with Conte replacing Giuseppe Materazzi midway through the 2007-08 season and winning Serie B in the following campaign.
The former Juve midfielder left his role that summer, and it was suggested that he could take over in Turin, but Ciro Ferrara was appointed instead.
After a difficult spell with Atalanta, Conte took Siena to promotion in 2011 and finally the Old Lady came calling.
When Conte took over the Bianconeri, they were not the all-conquering force we know today.
The Turin giants had finished seventh in the two previous seasons, and despite the signings of Andrea Pirlo, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Arturo Vidal, the aim for the season was simply Champions League qualification.
However, Conte’s adoption of the 3-5-2 system proved to be a masterstroke, and his side mounted an unlikely title challenge.
When Milan lost to Inter in Week 37 it became official: Juve had won their first post-Calciopoli Scudetto, and they’d done it unbeaten too.
Conte’s side retained the title for the following two seasons, racking up a record 102 points in 2013-14.
Just two days into pre-season though, the Coach resigned his position, frustrated by a lack of transfer spending.
He then took over from Cesare Prandelli as Italy CT, and despite expressing his frustrations over a lack of time with his players, the Azzurri performed well at Euro 2016.
Conte opted to build a side in his own image, hard working and willing to work for each other, with the likes of Emanuele Giaccherini, Marco Parolo and Graziano Pelle taking starring roles.
The CT had already announced he’d join Chelsea after the tournament, and his side were eliminated on penalties by Germany in the Quarter-Finals.
After a slightly shaky start to his career in England, Conte once again switched to a back-three – a 3-4-3 this time – and Chelsea cruised to the Premier League title.
At 47, Conte is still relatively young for a Coach and he is now widely regarded as one of the best in the world.