Antonio Conte thinks he is “in the right moment of my life” to experience Chelsea and English football, including their packed Christmas schedule.
The former Italy Coach sat down with Chelseafc.com to discuss how he has settled in during his first few months at Stamford Bridge. The first part of the interview is here.
Antonio Conte thinks he is “in the right moment of my life” to experience Chelsea and English football, including their packed Christmas schedule.
The former Italy Coach sat down with Chelseafc.com to discuss how he has settled in during his first few months at Stamford Bridge. The first part of the interview is here.
“This is a good challenge for me, and for my wife and my daughter, because this is the first time for me working in a country with another language, with different habits and also a different method of work, but I am enthusiastic about this experience because I think I arrive in the right moment of my life.
“Once I had an opportunity to come (to England as a player), but then it did not happen. But now, as a Coach, I am in time to have this fantastic experience.
“However, for me it is a bit difficult now to enjoy London, as usually when you arrive in a new club it is important to put the job for me and my staff above all else in this first period.
“For this reason I am enjoying only a little of London. I hope in the future to explore London better, but for now I prefer to be concentrated on the work.
“Sometimes (I am recognised), above all if I go for a walk in Chelsea, and there are many Italian people here, but it is good and I have seen a lot of respect shown to the players and to me. I appreciate it a lot.
“But my main hobby now is to spend time with my family, my wife and my daughter, when they are here. For now they stay in Italy and every weekend they come here and stay with me. Always they come to games and when we play at home they sit behind me and I want this. I want to feel their support.”
This will also be Conte’s first experience of the unusual packed Christmas and New Year schedule of the Premier League, a time when Serie A usually takes its Winter break.
“I am curious about this. This is the first time my team will play during the Christmas and New Year and I am very keen to discover about this.
“This Christmas I will be in England with all my family, not only my wife and daughter, but also my father and mother and my brothers together. For sure it will be a new Christmas for us.”
Conte is in a way following in the footsteps of Gianluca Vialli, another former Juventus and Chelsea hero who was also his teammate.
“With Gianluca I played a lot at Juventus and we won a lot. I remember him very well because he was my captain when we won the Champions League, and he was a fantastic player and is a fantastic man.
“He was very important for us because he was a real captain. The captain must always be an example for his team-mates. If he plays or if he doesn’t play, he must always stay in the middle in the changing room as an example.
“He must help the Coach, he must help the club and above all when the situation is not easy. It is important the Coach and the club and also the players see the captain as the person that can help in this situation.”