Antonio Conte would like to Coach Arturo Vidal again – “I want him on all my teams!”
The Italy CT will step down after Euro 2016, and is widely expected to join English Premier League side Chelsea.
Having worked with the Chilean in their time together at Juventus, the Azzurri boss expressed his admiration for the Bayern Munich midfielder.
“Arturo Vidal said he’d take me to war with him?” Conte reflected in an interview with El Pais.
Antonio Conte would like to Coach Arturo Vidal again – “I want him on all my teams!”
The Italy CT will step down after Euro 2016, and is widely expected to join English Premier League side Chelsea.
Having worked with the Chilean in their time together at Juventus, the Azzurri boss expressed his admiration for the Bayern Munich midfielder.
“Arturo Vidal said he’d take me to war with him?” Conte reflected in an interview with El Pais.
“I’d take Vidal too. He’s an amazing player. I must admit at Juve I found him hard to fit in.
"In my head I wanted to play a 4-2-4 and 4-4-2, but seeing the intensity of Vidal getting up and down the pitch I switched to a 4-3-3 which then transformed into 3-5-2.
“He has extraordinary physical and technical attributes, if I get to coach him a little more it’d be fantastic.
“I want him on all my teams.”
The CT then went on to discuss his upbringing, as well as his footballing philosophy.
“My first team Lecce paid eight footballs and 150,000 lire [€75] for me. Having a price as a footballer was a source of pride and satisfaction.
“Now everything is inflated, including salaries. Before you had to go a long way to make money, my first contract in Serie A was €150,000 [per season].
“Did I ever break the rules? No, I’ve never even stolen a sweet, it’s because of my upbringing.
“I remember one day I found 2,000 lire [€1] in the mall and I couldn’t believe it. I swear, I started walking quickly as if I’d stolen it.
“The motto of Baron De Coubertin [the important thing is to participate] is not for me. I’m a very competitive person.
“I don’t do things just for the sake of it, if I decide to do something then I want to get the maximum out of myself and others, because I’m a perfectionist.
“The most important thing? Respect. That’s the first thing I give people, and the first thing I expect back. I’ll never trust someone who is rude.
“What does it take to win a place in my team? You have to sacrifice yourself for us. The team isn’t a single element.
“Obviously the more talent you have, the more chance you have of winning, but I want that talent to be put to use for the team.
“The team has always been the priority for me, I’ve never entrusted everything to a single player, no matter how good he was.
“What distinguished me [as a player] was running a lot, happy because I could see the superstars playing, playing for the team.
“I’ve experienced it, and I know how it is so that’s what I wanted to implement.
“My message is that you have to finish the game with no regrets. You can win or lose, but you should never get to the dressing room saying ‘if only I’d done this or done that’.
“What makes me angry? Lack of passion. Football is a sport you have to be in love with, you need to have a lot of passion and enthusiasm.
“If I see people who don’t have it, strolling around the pitch, looking tired in training – that makes me angry.
“When we were children in the street, we knew that you got from life what you put into it. That’s lacking today.
“These days there are plenty of pitches at schools, well-tended pitches. We were playing in the church playground. It was full of holes, but to us it was like San Siro.
“There was a tremendous spirit of adapation, it was enough just to be with the ball. Now there’s much more help and the street talent is lacking.
“On the street we learned to climb trees, to fall and break our arm – we were rascals. If I asked a 10-year-old child today if they knew how to climb trees they’d give me a blank look.
“We had a good time because we didn’t have much. We have to protect children, yes, but we also have to let life give them a little slap.
“Speaking to the players? I use videos – show before tell you might say. I like to see it in a didactic way, get them to explain what would have happened if they’d been better positioned.
“It gives them more responsibility and gets them thinking like Coaches.
“You have to know players, know who needs shouted at and who doesn’t, get into their heads.
“Nowadays a Coach has to be prepared in every way, tactically, technically and psychologically. You have to read and study hard.
“Anyone who says there’s nothing left to invent in football is very foolish, they’re saying they don’t have the desire to do anything.”
Finally, Conte was asked about the security risk at this summer’s European Championships, following the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels in recent days and months.
“I hope it’s a Euros where we can think about sport and not fear,” Conte said.
“I really hope for calm, because the European Championships are synonymous with brotherhood.”