Conte hails ‘extraordinary’ Ranieri and plans special get-together

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte praised ‘extraordinary’ Watford boss Claudio Ranieri ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League derby, revealing they are planning a New Year’s dinner between their families.

The two Italian tacticians will face off on January 1 at 15.00 GMT and it promises to be an intriguing match.

During his Zoom press conference, Conte also answered some questions in Italian from Sky Sport Italia about the game and his admiration for veteran Ranieri.

“First of all, there is great respect for the man. Claudio is a top person. There is friendship and shared admiration off the field too, between our respective families,” said Conte.

Both of these Italian coaches have won the Premier League title, although Ranieri’s was historic at the helm of minnows Leicester City.

“I think he achieved something extraordinary winning with Leicester, proving to everyone what kind of a coach he is.

“In Italy, he worked at practically every big club other than Milan, so that says it all. He is a coach with experience, charisma and yet is always eager to challenge himself.

“He accepted this latest challenge to come back to England. I am keeping my fingers crossed, because he beat me last season!”

Although Conte won the Scudetto with Inter, he did lose a few Serie A matches, including 2-1 away to Ranieri’s Sampdoria in January 2021.

“I will be very happy to see him and hopefully we can organise something in the days after the game so our families can meet up.”