Who would you say has been restricted by Conte? From all the gifted players he have coached he got the most out of them.
A finished Pirlo was brought back to life. Tevez went back to being a top player under Conte but this is one I always thought he would do well. Llorente took some time to adapt but then had a very good run of games. Barzagli was a terrible defender and yet he became world class under him. Bonnuci was the master of poor defending and yet Conte managed to keep Juve's defense as one of the best in the world despite bonnucci. Vidal hit amazing heights last season and have steadily progressed. Conte gave Pogba the chance and he has been developing steadily ever since. Marchisio played better under Conte than pre-conte.
Who is it in specific that has been restricted by Conte? Our few creative players thrived under him more so than under any other coach. Who has been capped?
The fact that he can organize non-technical players and get the job done with them does not mean that he would restrict more creative ones. The few ones he has coached have all excelled under his guidance. Give him more creative players than judge but until then the evidence is against you.
Firstly, my point has nothing to do with the defence really. If anything, they are expected to improve under a rigid system. FFS, Conte was not even allowing us to put corners into the box for fear of counters.
And I don't mean that Conte necessarily has stopped players from progressing. Even Del Neri couldn't stop Vidal or Pogba from progressing to what they are now. Surely you know that.
I'm talking about the team's playing style. All you have to do is notice the difference in Tevez's role in the squad. Last year he was chained to Llorente, restricted only to choreographed movements with the target man. This year it seems he is free to do what he pleases. Would I say he has been even more influential? Probably yes.
But my main point is that in a big match, when you lack any form of improvisation, you are doomed. When Tevez is still performing the same combinations with Llorente that surely the opponent has seen many times, it is difficult to produce anything above your potential. I don't think it's a coincidence that Tevez has performed better in the CL under Allegri so far.
Obviously there is not much of a comparison to make so far as Allegri has opted to continue the 3-5-2 and is only now seriously investigating a change. In the 3-5-2 there really is only freedom for Tevez's position and we can see a clear difference there but I would never expect Allegri to tell Lichtsteiner or Asamoah that they can marauder up front as they please.
I do have a feeling that a 4 man back line will underline the difference between Conte's Juve and what our players can really give, more specifically in CL matches. Serie A is not a great measuring stick.
There are tiny examples of Allegri giving more freedom so far this season when you watch Giovinco or especially Morata. Under Conte I think Morata would have been a strict deputy of Llorente as a target man but right now we can see there is a clear difference between the two. Morata turns and heads for goal every opportunity he gets. There are times last year that Conte had to use Giovinco to replace Llorente and Giovinco was trying to replicate Llorente's function of holding the line back and staying central, which is obviously stupid.
There are other tiny examples that I can't help but notice. If you watch the Azzurri you can see the same movements from the 2 strikers that we saw for 3 years. If you watch the build up around the opponent's box you can see the CMs always set up on the corners of the box.
This year we, Juve, have seen much less of Bonucci with the ball. That's logical though and would happen organically within any team if they are left to make their own decisions. The only reason Bonucci would have so much of the ball in the past is if the coach explicitly wanted to hold possession with his back 3 and instructed the sweeper to monopolize the ball.
My overall point is that I don't think Conte's teams can ever win matches they are not supposed to win. If you take Conte's Juve and face Bayern 10 times, you will probably lose every match 2-0 or maybe tie a couple. If you take a less rigid coach you might just win 1 or 2 out of those 10 matches while the other losses might be more like 3-0 or 4-0 or even 7-1 like Garcia lol. But at least you have a chance.
That's just my view of Conte. Of course I still think he is a fine coach and he could prove me wrong with the Azzurri but right now it seems he is the same. He will win the matches he is supposed to. He will win them all 1-0, even against Albania. Even nowadays with a lesser talented Italy, does anyone really believe they are so untalented as to not be able to score more than a goal or two against some of these teams? Of course they can.
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All praise Antonio Conte. The guy who made Chiellini our main creative force.
