Antonio Conte will not be able to greet his friend and counterpart Igor Tudor during tonight’s Champions League clash between Olympique Marseille and Tottenham.
The Group D match this evening is one of the most important games of the season for both clubs as they battle it out for a spot in the Round of 16 of the competition. Although Marseille sit bottom of the group, they’re only two points behind leaders Tottenham, so a win at home to Conte’s side would be enough to take them through to the knock-out stages.
One factor that plays into Marseille’s hands is the absence of Conte. The Italian coach was shown a red card in the dying moments of Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Sporting last week, furious that Harry Kane’s winner was chalked off for offside. His angry reaction was not appreciated by referee Danny Makkelie, who produced a red following the protest.
Replacing Conte in the Spurs dugout is assistant coach Cristian Stellini. The 48-year-old Italian has years of experience working under his compatriot, being a technical coach during his time at Siena in the 2010-11 season. He followed Conte to Juventus for the 2011-12 campaign and later joined him at Inter in July 2019.