Antonio Conte confirms that Silvio Berlusconi tried to bring him to Milan as a coach, advises Inter to keep Romelu Lukaku and was ‘200 per cent sure’ Simone Inzaghi would make life difficult for Manchester City.
The former Tottenham Hotspur coach was in Arezzo today to receive an award and spoke at a press conference, so you can read the rest of his comments here.
He was also asked about the death of Monza patron Berlusconi at the age of 86, as there had been reports he’d tried to hire Conte at Milan in 2015.
“This is someone who wrote history,” said Conte. “As with all people who wrote history, he was inevitably divisive, either loved or hated. But even those who were against Berlusconi still admired that he was a visionary.
“He did something extraordinary at Milan, really did define an era. It is true, Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani tried to bring me to Milan in the past. That is a source of pride and satisfaction, because these are people I always appreciated.”
As a former Inter coach, Conte was watching the Champions League Final with a careful eye, the Nerazzurri losing 1-0 to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
It was far closer a battle than many Premier League pundits expected, but Conte saw the tactical tussle coming.
“Guardiola said Italian football is cruel to itself and does itself down, and I agree, because we have excellent coaches who are constantly studying and learning.
“This season, the Italian clubs showed by reaching the Finals of three tournaments that they are not that far off the rest. I was 200 per cent sure that Manchester City would suffer against Inter. When you face teams so tactically well-prepared, it is never easy.
“City also felt the weight of being the favourites and the fact that our teams were able to compete with the biggest clubs in Europe proves Italian football is not in crisis. We can only congratulate Inter, Roma and Fiorentina.”
It was Conte who convinced Inter to purchase Lukaku and now he is urging the club to extend the loan agreement with Chelsea for another season.
“Romelu showed even in those 30 minutes in the Final what he can do, because that was the period of the game where Inter had the most chances. Putting a player of his strength onto the field makes the difference.
“He had injury problems this year, but nobody can doubt his quality.”
There have been suggestions that Conte could even return to Italy for Napoli, as Luciano Spalletti is taking a sabbatical after winning the Scudetto.
“Winning at Napoli is not easy, because the passionate support can be moody. Despite a very attacking style of football, they were also organised in getting the ball back quickly and finding a balance.
“It is a pity Spalletti’s journey at Napoli was interrupted, and I say that as someone who has interrupted quite a few journeys. The foundations were solid and Spalletti could’ve won again, but we must respect his choice. Sometimes you really do reach the end of the line and are running on empty.”