Antonio Conte’s quest to revive Tottenham Hotspur begins with tricky test against Vitesse
Exactly five months after parting ways with Inter Milan, Antonio Conte is back in management after putting pen to paper on an 18-month contract with Tottenham Hotspur.
The 52-year-old won Serie A before leaving Inter Milan. He was on Tottenham Hotspur's radar before the club even settled for Nuno Espirito Santo.
The good thing is that Conte is already familiar with the English game. He turned a crisis-ridden Chelsea team into Premier League champions and also won the FA Cup the following season before departing Stamford Bridge.
The Italian manager certainly has the pedigree, experience and record to fall back on. However, whether he can get this group of underperforming Spurs players to turn a new leaf is a question for another day.
"The fans deserve to have a competitive team with a will to fight." 💪 https://t.co/SQ1jkdhlnn
Antonio Conte faces tricky debut against Vitesse
Antonio Conte will handle his first game as Tottenham Hotspur boss when the side host Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
Spurs lost to the Dutch side in the reverse fixture, which put them third in their group and in danger of failing to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.
In that game, Tottenham Hotspur were completely atrocious and never really threatened their opponents. This is something that Conte is expected to change. As the disciplinarian that he’s known to be, making the big calls won’t be beyond him.
However, he needs a victory on his debut to start off on the right note. Vitesse have already proven to be a very stubborn side. However, Tottenham Hotspur have better quality. With Conte’s tactical nous, the English side should be able to get the needed result on Thursday.
Conte(nt). https://t.co/Z3HkKc0FZt
New project begins at Tottenham Hotspur
Antonio Conte was all smiles as he took charge of his first Tottenham Hotspur training session on Tuesday afternoon. The project he has taken on is one that will demand a lot to be successful.
The Italian has joined a club that hasn’t won anything in over a decade and has struggled badly this season. Spurs have won just one of their last four matches across all competitions. They lost 3-0 to Manchester United last week.
This is not something that Conte is used to. He’s an elite manager who has won trophies wherever he has been. Replicating that at Spurs, though, will be his biggest challenge of all.
Here's what Conte said during his first press conference as Tottenham Hotspur manager (as quoted by Sky Sports):
"My coaching philosophy is very simple - to play good and attractive football for our fans. To have a stable team, not up and down. I think the fans deserve to have a competitive team with a will to fight. I will do everything to deserve their support."
"This type of situation pushes you and increases the desire to work and to do something important for the fans of this club. This is a great opportunity, an honour to become the manager."
Several good managers have failed at Tottenham despite arriving with huge hopes. Conte’s arrival has also sparked massive fanfare among the Spurs fanbase, but it remains to be seen how he’ll fare in north London.