Antonio Conte signed an 18-month contract at Tottenham, but his latest interview with Sky Sport Italia suggests that he is already considering his future in North London and it would not be surprising to see him leave as he did with Juventus and Inter in the past.
Things can change suddenly in football, but transitions are even quicker when it comes to Antonio Conte. The Italian coach has released an interview with Sky Sport Italia questioning his club’s ambition and saying that the Premier League side have weakened their squad in the January transfer window when they signed Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus. He clearly expected something different when he moved to North London this past November. He expected more investments and, to some extent, more ambition.
According to reports in UK, Tottenham directors are surprised by Conte’s claims, but those who follow Italian football know that these kinds of interviews are no new for Conte. Plenty of examples show how the Italian tactician can be very quick to pack his suitcase if he realises that the club is no longer following him or doesn’t match his ambition. Whether his assessments are right or wrong, it’s another story.
Conte: ‘Tottenham weakened squad, I realise now this is the club’s vision’
Back in 2014, Conte left Juventus one day into the preseason. He was not convinced by the club’s plans for the future. He didn’t see room for improvement in the team and was disappointed that Juventus would not sign Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina. Conte left the club that he brought back to the top of Italian football from one day to another. Massimiliano Allegri arrived at the club and reached the Champions League Final with a team that had been partially built for Conte.
Conte is no new to complaints and Beppe Marotta has always handled the coach’s temper in front of the media, both at Juventus and Inter. However, he never managed to avoid his departure from the clubs. Conte also questioned Inter’s ambitions last season.
“I know that I can only have an impact on the present. The club’s programs have changed and I need clarity at the end of the season, we need a clear project because the fans deserve it,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia in April. Less than a month later, he had already left the club after winning the first Scudetto in 11 years for the Nerazzurri.
“What I can say is that my project never changed, but it would be nonsense to discuss this now,” he said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport in June.
“I don’t want to cause controversy or talk about transfers. I respect [Inter President] Zhang and I thank him for choosing me. I love Inter, the club and their fans.”
Conte’s latest interview sounds quite similar to many others that the 52-year-old released in the past. The bad thing for Tottenham is that it always ended in the same way, with the coach leaving the club. That’s why nobody would be surprised to see him walk away from North London at the end of the season.