Claudio Ranieri is “proud to hand over the baton of the Premier League” to Antonio Conte at Chelsea. “From one Italian to another.”
Last night the Blues beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 with a late Michy Batshuayi goal to secure the title.
Following in the footsteps of Leicester City, Conte is the fourth Italian Coach to win the Premier League after Roberto Mancini, Carlo Ancelotti and Ranieri.
Claudio Ranieri is “proud to hand over the baton of the Premier League” to Antonio Conte at Chelsea. “From one Italian to another.”
Last night the Blues beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 with a late Michy Batshuayi goal to secure the title.
Following in the footsteps of Leicester City, Conte is the fourth Italian Coach to win the Premier League after Roberto Mancini, Carlo Ancelotti and Ranieri.
“I am proud to hand over the baton of the Premier League to Antonio Conte: from one Italian to another, a great recognition of our school of management,” Ranieri told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“After the fairy-tale of my Leicester, this splendid Chelsea adventure. It was not easy to get it at the first attempt, but Conte passed his exam with flying colours on his debut in English football.
“Antonio did a great job in every sense: dealing with the team, his rapport with the outside world and relations with the media. Having said all that, the fundamental issue remains the work of the Coach.
“The first thing Conte deserves credit for is revitalising a team that was 10th last season. Players like Eden Hazard and Diego Costa have flourished like flowers. When a manager is able to remotivate players, it means he used the right arguments to convince them.
“The second important step was finding the right system. In his first Press conference, Conte announced he would be a ‘tailor’ – he did well to find the right suit for his team.
“He started with one system, then defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal forced him to intervene. And here is the third great Conte moment: he learned from those two losses.
“The fourth was his vision of some players. Pedro is the Mario Mandzukic of Chelsea, as he runs so hard to help teams. Victor Moses is a real revelation and Antonio saw something in these players that other Coaches had missed.
“Conte made the most of the energy Moses brings, his ability to cover the flank coast to coast, so Moses was a key figure for Chelsea.
“The fifth element to Conte’s title is a player who was fundamental to our own Leicester triumph: N’Golo Kante. I nicknamed him ‘moped’.
“Kante was the motor of Leicester and now at Chelsea. I don’t think it’s a coincidence he won twil titles in a row.”