Over 3,000 Juventus fans have signed a petition asking for Antonio Conte’s star to be removed from the club’s stadium.
The user ‘Buddy Guy Black & White’ created the Change.org page in response to Conte’s imminent appointment at Inter, who are traditionally Juve’s closest rivals.
“Antonio Conte was a beloved captain, who also played with his heart,” it read.
Over 3,000 Juventus fans have signed a petition asking for Antonio Conte’s star to be removed from the club’s stadium.
The user ‘Buddy Guy Black & White’ created the Change.org page in response to Conte’s imminent appointment at Inter, who are traditionally Juve’s closest rivals.
“Antonio Conte was a beloved captain, who also played with his heart,” it read.
“Then he became our Coach and won us an unexpected Scudetto without a top squad after Calciopoli and seventh places.
“That could be compared, I think, to winning a Champions League, precisely because of the historical importance attached to it… then he left for reasons that are probably not entirely clear, two days before the start of the season.
“Not a nice thing but, so far, it still falls into logic… What will be, as far as I’m concerned, an indelible divide with Conte is his landing at Inter…
“We know Coaches, as well as players and directors, are professionals, who have every right to make professional choices that go beyond ‘belonging’.
“If Mou came to Juve, he would’ve done nothing wrong to Inter, just as if Sarri did or Capello to Roma in the past, because things that are said during the course of a season all add up in dialectical clashes dictated by the moment, from situations on the field…
“In the case of Conte at Inter, I think it’s something very different. He’s not just a former Juventus player or a professional going to a rival team. Many have done that in the past…
“Here we have a person going to a club where, internally, even today, there are individuals like Zanetti or [Pirelli chief Marco] Tronchetti Provera, to pick two names at random, who have never hid their opinions about Juventus, who stole Scudetti from the same Juventus that Conte played for and was a protagonist for.
“Going to Inter isn’t a professional choice for Conte. A professional choice would be to go to Napoli, Roma, Milan…
“Going to Inter means joining a club who have tried, luckily without succeeding, through several more or less clear channels, to destroy us and throw dirt on the history of which Conte was undoubtedly the protagonist…
“Going to Inter isn’t a professional choice. Going to Inter will mean trampling on one’s dignity first…
“As far as I'm concerned, the star at the stadium represents what being a ‘juventino’ is about and not just the past…
“In making this jump, Conte no longer represents the ‘juventino’ spirit and values that embody the other stars.
“[Zibi] Boniek wasn’t given one for the same reason, and he was more worthy of it than Conte right now.”
The 49-year-old played 400 times for the Bianconeri as a player, winning five Scudetti and a Champions League.
He later led the Old Lady to three Scudetti as a Coach, prior to stepping down in 2014.