Andrea Pirlo warned Chelsea that Antonio Conte will bring success, but “if the owner wants to start making decisions, he is not the Coach for you.”
Current Italy manager Conte is widely expected to take over at Stamford Bridge next season.
“I love the man, I have nothing but respect and admiration for him. I know if he takes a job, any job, it will have to be on his terms.
“The players he wants to sign, those he wants to get rid of, the style he wants to play,” Pirlo told The Mirror.
Andrea Pirlo warned Chelsea that Antonio Conte will bring success, but “if the owner wants to start making decisions, he is not the Coach for you.”
Current Italy manager Conte is widely expected to take over at Stamford Bridge next season.
“I love the man, I have nothing but respect and admiration for him. I know if he takes a job, any job, it will have to be on his terms.
“The players he wants to sign, those he wants to get rid of, the style he wants to play,” Pirlo told The Mirror.
“If you sign him as your Coach and then as the owner you want to start making decisions, he is not the Coach for you.
“If you let him get on with things and do his methods, then you will have a team that plays attractive football and will, without doubt, be successful.”
In his autobiography, former Juventus midfielder Pirlo famously described Conte as “a beast with two wives” – his own and football.
“There is a beast in him. I have been in his dressing room at half-time when we have been winning, but he comes in and will be throwing full bottles of water around because of a mistake we made or because he feels we should be further ahead.
“His life is football. I know he is up until 3-4am in the morning, studying videos, looking at errors, studying the opposition of the next game.
“It is a good job Elisabetta is such an understanding wife, and if he takes the Chelsea job then she will have plenty of time to enjoy London, because he has two wives – Elisabetta and football.
“I even know he will turn on the bedroom lights in the middle of the night because he has thought of something he needs to write down – you will not find a more understanding woman than her.
“I have played under a lot of great managers, but I can say that Conte is a genius. Like all men who possess genius, he is a little mad.
“The man can be a beast, a dressing room when he is angry is one of the most dangerous places you can be.”