To fix it all in one mercato would've been magic but to 'apparently fix' it in their second summer would've been par for the course? Even that would have been hard. Of course, I don't deny we were in bad shape before they came. But do you honestly think the management expected to go from seventh to first in one season? Their aim if you remember was CL qualification. That was one of the main reasons Del Neri was appointed and chosen by Marrotta in his first season at the club, because they had just achieved that with Sampdoria. But with Conte coming here and winning in his first season itself, it threw the managements plans a bit out of shape, because now they had to sustain the success had Conte achieved. He achieved a miracle and I'm grateful to him for that.
"apparently fix", lol. you hate Marotta so much you find it hard to give him credit for anything dont you?
lets take a look at our team at the end of 2010:
Buffon, Chimenti, Manninger
Chiellini, Caceres, Cannavaro, Grosso, Legrotaglie, Zebina, Molinaro, PDC, Grygera
Melo, Hasan, Marchisio, Camoranesi, Poulsen, Sissoko, Candreva, Diego, Tiago
Del Piero, Amauri, Iaquinta, Trezeguet, Giovinco
and after summer mercato 2011:
Buffon, Storari,
Manninger
Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli,
PDC, Lichtsteiner,
Grosso (+
Caceres in winter)
Marchisio, Pirlo, Vidal, Pepe, Krasic, Giaccherini, Elia, Estigarribia (+ Padoin in winter)
Matri, Quagliarella, Vucinic,
Del Piero, Borriello
apart from these 8 guys (only 3 of which remained starters), he changed the team completely in 2 mercatos. so he did "fix it". most of the players he brought in were much superior to the players we had when he took over. the team Conte had was top 3 in the league easily. not every coach would have won the title with that team in our 1st season (most good coaches would finish top 3 that season and win the title the very next) so thats something he deserves credit for. but in no way would we not become a superpower again if it wasnt for him. This club is too much superiorly run compared to others in Italy, and a lot of foreign clubs, to not rise to the top again so quickly.
Again, I think you're putting a bit too much emphasis on the kind of players that came through the mercato. It doesn't matter even if we got Maradona out of retirement or got Molinaro and had him come play for us. The important factor is uniting the team with an identity and integrity of purpose underlined by the same mentality that he had learnt at his time at the club. He was the perfect catalyst that gave the team the spark and belief without which they were nothing. Look at Leicester for example, they don't have the best names on paper compared to their more illustrious rivals, but they have something far more intangible, strength in unity, to sacrifice for the other. It is a very special ethos that most teams find hard to come by.
Yes, creating a team out of the great players he received was ONE OF the most important things to do. Still, you can't win the title with players that arent quality, no matter how good a motivator you are. And most of these players went on to win another 3 titles and reach a CL final which tells you a lot about how good they were. So it does matter, a lot in fact, what kind of players he had at his disposal. And don't compare us to Leicester, thats a 1 in 100 years situation. Lets compare us to Chelsea for example. Mourinho got back and Inserted his winning mentality into the players, they won the title in his 1st (full) season and the very next season they crumble. Why? Because you have to do it season after season, and that's exactly why our comeback this season was not because we won a title with Conte 4 years ago, it was because Allegri was capable of motivating the team and creating the winning mentality within them when things went bad.
And the irony of it all, is that I think Allegri is a better tactician than Conte, while Conte was a better man manager. Where we are today, with a higher quality of personnel, is better handled by someone like Allegri, for the expression of their footballing style. But, what makes them win matches when they're in tight positions is not just quality, it's also mentality and a work ethic, which was the hallmark of Conte's work with us.
Again, in my mind I don't expect Conte to be the only name synonymous with our success 100 years from this discussion. But I do think people will remember his legacy for a far greater time than the three years he spent with us, because he helped the team find what it had lost, the very essence of our DNA: the grinta.
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I care four $#@!s about people criticising him, but anyone who isn't grateful for the work that he's done deserves to order some humble pie at the finest 100 euro restaurant there is. Oh, and for the record, the essence of mentality is that it outlives most tangibles, such as players and coaches. It's like the players say themselves, it's the air that you breathe at the club. The foundations for which post calciopoli, were laid in large part by someone who understood and inhaled the same air as a player.
Thats something I can mostly agree with, and the game is about to start so i don't want to go further into this
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