Thomas Tuchel is not the first to argue with Antonio Conte on the pitch: here are three memorable clashes involving the Tottenham boss, including one with Juventus President Andrea Agnelli.
Conte is known for his temper and personality, making him one of the most iconic figures in modern football. The fans of the clubs he coaches love him; the opposing supporters can’t stand him. It’s the destiny of big characters. You can either love or hate them and Conte is one of those.
The Italian tactician clashed with his Chelsea counterpart Thomas Tuchel on Sunday. Their confrontation has quickly become viral on social media and is definitely the most debated football event of the weekend.
Tuchel is not the first to clash with Conte on the pitch, so we look at three previous memorable disputes involving the 53-year-old.
Conte clashed with José Mourinho in January 2018, when the Italian tactician was in charge of Chelsea and the Special One coached Manchester United.
Mourinho complained about Conte’s exaggerated celebration following Chelsea’s fourth goal in a 4-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
“You don’t celebrate like that at 4-0, you can do it at 1-0 otherwise, it’s humiliating for us,” the Portuguese boss told Conte after the game.
It sparked a long series of incidents and quotes between the two coaches who have recently met in a friendly match between Spurs and Roma showing respect to each other.
Ex-Conte assistant Angelo Alessio spoke about the famous argument in an exclusive interview with Football Italia last year, saying that, after all, Conte and Mou are ‘very similar.’
The ex-Juventus and Inter boss isn’t only arguing with fellow coaches. During his first season at Inter, in the Europa League Final lost against Sevilla, the Italian boss almost went face to face with Ever Banega who had apparently made fan of his heir.
“I’ll see you after the game,” Conte told the ex-Inter midfielder, while members of his staff avoided a physical clash between the contenders.
However, the most popular on-the-pitch clash between Conte and a rival came a few months later, during his second season at San Siro.
Conte had returned to the Allianz Stadium for the second time as an opponent and his Inter side faced Juventus in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semis. It was February 2021.
President Agnelli appeared to insult Conte after the final whistle telling his ex-boss: ‘stick the finger up your ….’
But why was he so angry? A video circulating on social media after the match proved Conte had shown the middle finger looking at Juventus’ directors and Agnelli in the stands just before the break.
Conte was fined €2,000 and apologised a few days later, saying that he ‘reacted in a wrong way’ to the insults he had received.
“Footballers, coaches and Presidents must act as role models and we should always remember this,” he said at a press conference during that same week.
“I am sorry because I reacted to insults in the wrong way. I could have done something different by raising the thump or applauding, I should have had a more positive attitude.”
Conte being Conte – a drama queen.
Hate when people make fan of my heir.