Antonio Conte admits he’d like to go to a club that has ‘somewhat lost sight of their history,’ clubs ‘where there’s pressure, where, ultimately, you know full well that you’re not going there just to take part.’
Former Napoli, Inter and Juventus coach Conte spoke about his future during an interview with The Athletic.
Conte left Napoli last summer, walking out after a two-year spell during which he had won one Scudetto and one Supercoppa Italiana.
“It was a wonderful experience. It took a lot of energy, and it wasn’t easy,” Conte said.
“Having to go into battle against Inter, Juve and Milan is no walk in the park for Napoli, Roma or Lazio. So I’ve used up a lot of energy. Now I’m at a stage where I’m just keeping an eye on things. During quiet periods, when I’m not working, the nice thing is that you can sit and watch matches, study new approaches, and be even more calm and collected as you try to adapt the developments in football to your own ideas.”
He’s now without a club but is waiting to begin the next chapter of his career.
What Conte said about the next club he wants to coach
“If you go to a club where the history speaks for itself — a history made up of trophies, league titles and victories — you can only honour that history in one way: by having the ambition to bring that club back — if it isn’t there today — to fight for those goals,” he noted.
“I know full well that only one team can win every year, but I must carry in my heart — and instil in the hearts of the fans, my players and my directors — that spark, that hope that makes you say, ‘F**k, we can win’.
“Even that one per cent — but it must be a one per cent that can become 70, 80 or even 100 per cent. It depends on how you convey it.
“The manager is important, because he conveys that message, day in, day out,” he continued.
“He has daily interactions with everyone: with his staff, the masseur, the kit man, the physiotherapist, the groundsman — all people who need to be involved and feel part of the drive to make history, and you only make history by winning.
“There are many clubs that have somewhat lost sight of their history. I’d like to go to one of these clubs to dust off that history and make it shine once more.
“Clubs where there’s pressure, where, ultimately, you know full well that you’re not going there just to take part, but to compete.”
Conte has recently been linked with both Juventus and Manchester United.
He already coached the Bianconeri from 2011 to 2014, bringing three consecutive Serie A titles, the first ones in the club’s history after the Calciopoli scandal in 2006.
He also played for Juventus, winning 12 trophies, including the 1996 Champions League.
He has coached Chelsea and Tottenham in the Premier League, winning the Premier League title and the FA Cup with the Blues.
During the interview, he admitted that he’d consider taking a job in-season “if it’s worth it” and another experience in England hasn’t been ruled out.
“In England today they’re using bazookas, while everywhere else they’re still using a pistol,” Conte added.
“But we also need to be careful about how the money is spent. That’s why we were talking earlier about making the right assessments, about having a vision, because you may well have the money, but you have to spend it wisely.”
