Antonio Conte (37 Viewers)

[PhRoZeN]

even with the team he had, which was names wise 4th-5th best in the tournament behind Germany, France and Spain, and maybe slightly behind Belgium (just maybe), a quarterfinal cant be considered a good result and an extraordinary accomplishment, like some people are presenting it.

And he lost on penalties against Germany? I take it not progressing in penalties against the favourites was his fault too? QF is a good result considering how leading up to the tournament it was all deemed as doom and gloom. Our attack was poor, midfield was half decent and of course our strength was the backline. Dont forget Conte was the only option for Italy and undoubtedly he was the best option so they couldnt have done any better.

Your'e naming Belotti when at that time there was hardly a reason for Conte to choose him. Bonaventura wasnt as good as you make out and for the reasons mentioned in the post above me as were the other players. I will give you the Jorginho though, i was very suprised by that ommision. However look at what the hell he did with Giaccherrini? I mean he made him a great player during the tournament. He at one point had giacchi - parolo- sturaro. A piss poor midfield that gave Germany problems.

Overall we had a shit squad but he made a team and that was the strength and he would have gone much further. Its cool to pick your italy fantasy team but thats not what makes a team its players who can follow orders to perfection and conte chose those who he felt were not brainless talented but knew tactics. For a fantasy team you should consider England as thats what their fans spend most of the time doing.

 

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[zizinho]

Belotti is very hot property now, but last summer he was a nobody. El Sha is a very ordinary player, I don't think he could've improved Italy's attack, maybe Insigne, but he also is no world beater. Eder did very well in my opinion, with that midfield and attack Italy was never going to dominate opponents so needed someone who can press hard and hold up the ball, something both El Sha and Insigne are incapable of doing.

besides Italy did not play 343 last summer, they played 352. if they went with your midget 343 against Germany they surely wouldn't get to penalties

Conte used the 343 in couple of friendlies before the Euro and it worked well, but ditched it and decided to play it safe like he usually does, it wasnt something new to that team. and cut the crap about not even getting to the penalties with that formation, Germany was nothing special that tournament, including the game vs Italy. an inferior team with zero creative players managed to score on them and push them to penalties, they were very beatable.

Belotti even last season outscored Pelle + his all around game and workrate is much better. ElSha last season was fantastic if you watched him after his return to Roma from >forgot where he played<. Eder on the other hand had a goo 1st half of the season for Sampdoria but was bellow average after his transfer to inter in the 2nd half of the season. Insigne is better than both easily and the only reason i didnt put him into the starting XI is because of the higher workrate from ElSha and Candreva, which is necessary with the 2 man midfield behind them. that team had the perfect personnel to play a strong defensive game and attack through the wings in transition, but Conte was too stubborn to change his idea of football for the better of the team for once

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And he lost on penalties against Germany? I take it not progressing in penalties against the favourites was his fault too? QF is a good result considering how leading up to the tournament it was all deemed as doom and gloom. Our attack was poor, midfield was half decent and of course our strength was the backline.

Your'e naming Belotti when at that time there was hardly a reason for Conte to choose him. Bonaventura wasnt as good as you make out and for the reasons mentioned in the post above me as were the other players. I will give you the Jorginho though, i was very suprised by that ommision. However look at what the hell he did with Giaccherrini? I mean he made him a great player during the tournament. He at one point had giacchi - parolo- sturaro. A piss poor midfield that gave Germany problems.

Overall we had a shit squad but he made a team and that was the strength and he would have gone much further. Its cool to pick your italy fantasy team but thats not what makes a team its players who can follow orders to perfection and conte chose those who he felt were not brainless talented but knew tactics. For a fantasy team you should consider England as thats what their fans spend most of the time doing.

1st off, he could have had a much easier route to the final if he kept the draw vs Sweden instead of going for a pointless win there. 2nd, it was no big failure but he didnt win either, and shouldnt get praise for it. whats next, praising a coach for finishing 3rd in the group because he played vs Spain, Chile and Cameroon? whatever way you put it, a QF cant be viewed as a successful tournament for a nation like Italy. btw, where was all this doom and gloom? me and some other posters were saying that a semifinal is a realistic result before the Euro even begun, but you always have people underestimating Italy so this doom and gloom should be normal for them.

Belotti even last season was better than Pelle for sure, but Pelle wasnt the biggest problem for Italy callup wise. Bonaventura was Milans if not best player then one of the 3 best and Soriano played a great season for Doria, good enough for us to get interested in him during winter. Jorginho was an obvious mistake, as seen on the game vs Germany where his options were bad apart from Parolo. And if he did so well with Giacch, dont you think he would have done even more with better players? I think yes.

Its not a fanstasy team, its all players Conte used already and a formation he played before and does play now. I understand that you guys like watching offensively limited players run their asses off, but technically strong players can do it too, just ask Allegri

 

[PhRoZeN]

So you're asking a coach who doesnt like to lose to go for a draw? lol come on Italy have a history of starting off poorly in group stages, on this occassion we started off well but how many coaches out there tell there players to go out for a draw than a win? Winning breeds winning. At the end it was a lottery that took us out.

Your not kidding are you? Belotti was not better than Pelle. Belotti played 2597 mins with 12 goals and 4 assists. Pelle played 2174 with 11 goals and 6 assists. At best you can say on par but Pelle had more experience while Belotti was coming with these stats in his first season.

An international manager gets only so much time with his for a tournament while a club manager is working day in day out with his players. In case you havent been watching chelsea much this season Conte is doing the same

Belotti even last season was better than Pelle for sure, but Pelle wasnt the biggest problem for Italy callup wise. Bonaventura was Milans if not best player then one of the 3 best and Soriano played a great season for Doria, good enough for us to get interested in him during winter. Jorginho was an obvious mistake, as seen on the game vs Germany where his options were bad apart from Parolo. And if he did so well with Giacch, dont you think he would have done even more with better players? I think yes.

Its not a fanstasy team, its all players Conte used already and a formation he played before and does play now. I understand that you guys like watching offensively limited players run their asses off, but technically strong players can do it too, just ask Allegri

So you're asking a coach who doesnt like to lose to go for a draw? lol come on Italy have a history of starting off poorly in group stages, on this occassion we started off well but how many coaches out there tell there players to go out for a draw than a win? Winning breeds winning. At the end it was a lottery that took us out more than the strength of the opposition.

Your not kidding are you? Belotti was not better than Pelle. Belotti played 2597 mins with 12 goals and 4 assists. Pelle played 2174 with 11 goals and 6 assists. At best you can say on par but Pelle had more experience while Belotti was coming with these stats in his first season.

An international manager gets only so much time with his for a tournament while a club manager is working day in day out with his players. In case you havent been watching chelsea much this season Conte is doing the same

 

[pitbull]

Conte used the 343 in couple of friendlies before the Euro and it worked well, but ditched it and decided to play it safe like he usually does, it wasnt something new to that team. and cut the crap about not even getting to the penalties with that formation, Germany was nothing special that tournament, including the game vs Italy. an inferior team with zero creative players managed to score on them and push them to penalties, they were very beatable.

Belotti even last season outscored Pelle + his all around game and workrate is much better. ElSha last season was fantastic if you watched him after his return to Roma from >forgot where he played<. Eder on the other hand had a goo 1st half of the season for Sampdoria but was bellow average after his transfer to inter in the 2nd half of the season. Insigne is better than both easily and the only reason i didnt put him into the starting XI is because of the higher workrate from ElSha and Candreva, which is necessary with the 2 man midfield behind them. that team had the perfect personnel to play a strong defensive game and attack through the wings in transition, but Conte was too stubborn to change his idea of football for the better of the team for once

The nothing special Germany, who won World Cup in 2014 with pretty much the same team was a level above Italy quality-wise, it was plain to see to everyone, would've been a real cinderella story for Italy if not for those creative penalties. Funny how one of the successful friendlies you talk about was a 1:4 loss to the nothing special Germany using the exact same 343 system. They also had a 1:1 draw with Spain using 343, while in Euro2016 they destroyed them with 352. But yeah, the problem was probably formation

El Sha was fantastic exactly for half a season when he started out for Milan, but that's about it, why do you think Monaco didn't want to buy him for 14m lol? In hindsight Belotti probably was even a good player back then, but back then he was nowhere near that squad, definitely no where near being the main CF. The lineup you posted may have attacking potential through the wings, but man would it get fucked hard in the middle with a de Rossi - Jorginho duo

 

[zizinho]

So you're asking a coach who doesnt like to lose to go for a draw? lol come on Italy have a history of starting off poorly in group stages, on this occassion we started off well but how many coaches out there tell there players to go out for a draw than a win? Winning breeds winning. At the end it was a lottery that took us out more than the strength of the opposition.

Your not kidding are you? Belotti was not better than Pelle. Belotti played 2597 mins with 12 goals and 4 assists. Pelle played 2174 with 11 goals and 6 assists. At best you can say on par but Pelle had more experience while Belotti was coming with these stats in his first season.

An international manager gets only so much time with his for a tournament while a club manager is working day in day out with his players. In case you havent been watching chelsea much this season Conte is doing the same

So if you "dont like losing" (who does even?) you cant play it safe in a game and go for a draw, which would help you win even more and go further ultimately? Spain in basketball does this almost everyone tournament, and guess what, they are the 2nd most successful nation in the world past 10 years or so. It had noting to do with building a winning mentality (the game vs Belgium should have been enough for that), but maximizing your chances to win the while thing, which was you know the whole point of playing the competition.

Besides playing in a tougher to score in league, Andrea also played with another CF in Immobile for the 2nd half of the season. Also Belotti was better all around player with a higher workrate and quicker/faster, so would be better to press with Candreva and ElSha and track back

No idea what youre meaning with "Conte is doing the same this season"

 

[PhRoZeN]

No idea what youre meaning with "Conte is doing the same this season"

I meant it in reference to offensively strong players who work their ass off.

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So if you "dont like losing" (who does even?) you cant play it safe in a game and go for a draw, which would help you win even more and go further ultimately? Spain in basketball does this almost everyone tournament, and guess what, they are the 2nd most successful nation in the world past 10 years or so. It had noting to do with building a winning mentality (the game vs Belgium should have been enough for that), but maximizing your chances to win the while thing, which was you know the whole point of playing the competition.

Besides playing in a tougher to score in league, Andrea also played with another CF in Immobile for the 2nd half of the season. Also Belotti was better all around player with a higher workrate and quicker/faster, so would be better to press with Candreva and ElSha and track back

I was asking for a reference and you give me a basketball team

Its all hypothetical that Belotti would have been better, yada yada, as i said Pelle had experience and thats a good enough reason for Conte to choose him over Belotti.

 

[zizinho]

The nothing special Germany, who won World Cup in 2014 with pretty much the same team was a level above Italy quality-wise, it was plain to see to everyone, would've been a real cinderella story for Italy if not for those creative penalties. Funny how one of the successful friendlies you talk about was a 1:4 loss to the nothing special Germany using the exact same 343 system. They also had a 1:1 draw with Spain using 343, while in Euro2016 they destroyed them with 352. But yeah, the problem was probably formation

El Sha was fantastic exactly for half a season when he started out for Milan, but that's about it, why do you think Monaco didn't want to buy him for 14m lol? In hindsight Belotti probably was even a good player back then, but back then he was nowhere near that squad, definitely no where near being the main CF. The lineup you posted may have attacking potential through the wings, but man would it get fucked hard in the middle with a de Rossi - Jorginho duo

2014 and 2016 are two different teams still, form wise as well as personel. That loss to Germany was with a b team basically, the one before that vs Spain was a much better example. And if you concluded by watching both teams throughout the tournament that Germany is levels above then get an eyetest, cuz Italy was probably the best team up until quarterfinal.

ElSha was great upon his return to Italy for the 2nd half of the season, he was probably the most in form attacking option for Italy that tournament but didnt even get to play one game? One of Contes weaknesses showed up again there - stick with the same plan no matter what. Ok, lets ignore Belotti then, Pelle wasnt that bad and not the worst callup definitiely, but to say they would get destroyed in the middle without even seeing it is nonsense. Germany didnt get destroyed with a Kroos-Schweinsteiger mid (once Khedira got injured), the 1st example i can think off. Also i love how our Pjanic-Marchisio midfield got destroyed in Monaco . DDR is always fantastic for the NT, usually comes in great form for these big tournaments and delivers. Both him and Jorginho can keep the ball and pass it, they can press when needed and are covered by a hardworking front 3 and mobile wingbacks. It is definitely better than the one Conte used vs Germany, which couldnt male a pass further than 5 meters

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I meant it in reference to offensively strong players who work their ass off.

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I was asking for a reference and you give me a basketball team

Its all hypothetical that Belotti would have been better, yada yada, as i said Pelle had experience and thats a good enough reason for Conte to choose him over Belotti.

As for 'conte is doing the same' then i was referring it to offensively strong players who work their ass off.

Ah, so you see he can work with those. These Guys are pros, if you instruct them to press, track back and cover and where and when, then they will ne able to execute it.

Well, i think it was a good example since Spain are mostly good enough to beat anyone (bar USA) but they still are chosing the easier route when they can . My point was that there is nothing wrong with that, and i was pointing out months before the Euro how the 2nd place should ne the goal for them. And im hindsight, i was right seeing how Portugal won it.

Well lets say i was wrong about Belotti and that most coaches would have chosen Pelle for his experience. Again, that was not the main problem but rather his unwillingness to change things (formation and aproach) once half his midfield was out. Thats how you get Parolo playing regista and Sturaro starting a quarterfinal at the Euro when you have guys like ElSha or Insigne on the bench

 

[PhRoZeN]

Ah, so you see he can work with those. These Guys are pros, if you instruct them to press, track back and cover and where and when, then they will ne able to execute it.

Well, i think it was a good example since Spain are mostly good enough to beat anyone (bar USA) but they still are chosing the easier route when they can . My point was that there is nothing wrong with that, and i was pointing out months before the Euro how the 2nd place should ne the goal for them. And im hindsight, i was right seeing how Portugal won it.

Well lets say i was wrong about Belotti and that most coaches would have chosen Pelle for his experience. Again, that was not the main problem but rather his unwillingness to change things (formation and aproach) once half his midfield was out. Thats how you get Parolo playing regista and Sturaro starting a quarterfinal at the Euro when you have guys like ElSha or Insigne on the bench

But you see the difference right? Conte had a whole season, every day working with his Chelsea boys to turn these offensively strong players into hard a working winning team. While at International level its different, you dont get day to day management, so all the fancy fantasy players you named were most likely not as tactically inept for him or how he wanted to play. Im sure he knew what he was doing and it wasnt just some 'pick the shit player' when it came to selecting his players.

Well atleast we agree on Belotti.

 

[Mark]

I mean, Ranieri would win it with Chelsea this year. He did with freakin' Leicester last year. Right?

 

[PhRoZeN]

At the moment im willing to bet even Spaletti will, once he leaves us.

 

[Mark]

At the moment im willing to bet even Spaletti will, once he leaves us.

Spoiler

 

[PhRoZeN]

 

[zizinho]

But you see the difference right? Conte had a whole season, every day working with his Chelsea boys to turn these offensively strong players into hard a working winning team. While at International level its different so all the fancy fantasy players you named were not as tactically inept for him during that period. Im sure he knew what he was doing and it wasnt just some 'pick the shit player' when it came to selecting his players.

Well atleast we agree on Belotti.

but he did test the formation before, its not a random thought of me. he used it in friendlies before the tournament, and i saw them play a great game vs Spain in that formation, even though they were missing some players. vs Germany they got beaten badly (which is probably the reason Conte changed his mind about it) but that was with Montolivo-Motta in the middle and without Candreva and half the BBC. what i liked about that formation is that is keeps the BBC together, while also it masks their lack of strikers by playing only one, as well as lack of quality CMs (after Marchisio and Verratti injuries). it hides our weaknesses and builds on the strengths (defense and wings), which is why i liked it so much. at 1st i thought he is using 352 to grind past the group stage and will switch to 3421 later vs top teams but he never did. that, along with some questionable selections, limited their chances from the get go imo

 

[PhRoZeN]

but he did test the formation before, its not a random thought of me. he used it in friendlies before the tournament, and i saw them play a great game vs Spain in that formation, even though they were missing some players. vs Germany they got beaten badly (which is probably the reason Conte changed his mind about it) but that was with Montolivo-Motta in the middle and without Candreva and half the BBC. what i liked about that formation is that is keeps the BBC together, while also it masks their lack of strikers by playing only one, as well as lack of quality CMs (after Marchisio and Verratti injuries). it hides our weaknesses and builds on the strengths (defense and wings), which is why i liked it so much. at 1st i thought he is using 352 to grind past the group stage and will switch to 3421 later vs top teams but he never did. that, along with some questionable selections, limited their chances from the get go imo

Youve hit the nail on the head

 

[duranfj]

Conte also left out and didnt call up better players than those, so there you go. Jorginho played a great season with Napoli, and while guys like Soriano, Bonaventura arent world class, they would have been better options for the bench than the ones Conte had called up. not to mention that he could have called up some of the younger guys like Benassi or Cataldi. in attack it was the same thing. he had better players than Eder or Pelle (Insigne, El Shaarawy, Immobile, Zaza) sitting on the bench and guys like Berardi, Belotti, Gabbiadini not even called up. look at this and tell me it isnt a semifinalist team atleast, with how $#@!ty the competition at the last Euro was:

Buffon
Barzagli Bonucci Chiellini
Florenzi Jorginho De Rossi Bonaventura
Candreva Belotti El Shaarawy

bench: Darmian, De Sciglio, Giaccherini, Motta, Soriano, Parolo, Insigne, Bernardeschi, Immobile, Zaza/Gabbiadini


even with the team he had, which was names wise 4th-5th best in the tournament behind Germany, France and Spain, and maybe slightly behind Belgium (just maybe), a quarterfinal cant be considered a good result and an extraordinary accomplishment, like some people are presenting it.

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i think the word you are looking for is imbeciles

A lot of those have zero international experience or had their "breakthrough" just recently (For instance, Belotti). Agree he could use some other player but the quality gap IMO it wouldn't be that big.

About Conte worked with Italy lets agree to disagree cuz IMO he did a very good job and only missed a bit luck

 

[campionesidd]

i think the articles arent supposed to convince anyone Conte would join inter, but rather to reveal a few things about Conte like

- hes a professional
- he needs motivation to work on something, and money isnt the deciding thing in his decisions
- he wants to have a say in things and control over the team operations
- he values a promise a lot, and he isnt hesitating to leave a job if you give him a word and dont hold it

In that case, Inter would be a terrible choice.

 

[Klin]

What high expectations? These are top clubs that fire coaches regularly. If he repeats what the coaches previous to him did in terms of performance or only a slight improvement on it he is sacked. It seem you have forgotten how many coaches we went through before getting him and how easily Abramovic sacks coaches. The Inter and Milan jobs are not easy in any way and thats why every season they change one or two coaches.

You make it sound like he is coaching Arsenal. Chelsea is more cut-through than any club in England. The only worse top club at this are Madrid.

Previous Juve and Chelsea coaches were fired before appointing Conte because the respective squads under-performed under their tenure, not because they simply had a shit squad. Chelsea last season is a perfect example to this. They practically have the same squad this season and look where they are. Obviously Conte is a better manager than the current Mourninho, Zaccheroni, Delneri, etc, but what I'm saying is that he very much knows what he's doing before accepting to take on a Managerial role at a club. It wasn't really an impossible objective finishing top 4 in the EPL with that squad he has.

 

[Fr3sh]

Italy MF was terrible. Verrati and Marchisio were out in case you missed it. Conte made Giaccherini, Parolo, Eder and Pelle looked way way better than they actually are so kuddos for Conte there

His EC run was very impressive!!

 

[duranfj]

His EC run was very impressive!!

Electric car?

 

[Fr3sh]

Electric car?

Euro Cup