Antonio Conte makes his Premier League debut with Chelsea today as he prepares his side to take on West Ham United in the opening match of the season.
The 2015-2016 season was a very disappointing campaign for Chelsea Football Club. Former Inter manager Jose Mourinho was sacked in December after having led the Blues to the Premier League title the year prior. Guus Hiddink, hired on an interim basis, failed to overturn the club’s position in the League thus finishing in 10th place.
Antonio Conte was selected to be the new Chelsea manager once his contract with the Italian FA expired after Euro 2016, becoming the club’s fourth Italian manager after Gianluca Vialli, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo.
Coming off the back of a two year spell with the Azzurri, he guided them to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 only to lose to Germany on penalties. Antonio Conte’s stock value is at its highest in his managerial career as he prepares to take charge of his first competitive game with Chelsea.
Before the Azzurri though, Conte spent three successful years at Juventus where he took a side which finished seventh place and molded them into three-time Scudetto winners, including an unbeaten first season.
An incredible achievement of Conte and his ability to develop young talent can be best described with the star-status of Paul Pogba. The Frenchman was one of his projects at the time, becoming an important player for the side in his three years at the club. Paul became one of the best midfielders in Serie A under Conte’s leadership and now the most expensive player in the world after his move to rivals Manchester United.
Transfers
The signings of Michy Batshuayi and N’Golo Kante — for a total fee of 65m — have been Conte’s only additions so far in this transfer window. Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly continues to be linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, having seen several bids for the player turned down. With only five defenders at the club going into the opening game of the season against West Ham, efforts are being stepped up to strengthen the defence before the transfer window closes.
The loans of Radamel Falcao and Alexandre Pato were not renewed for a further season with both players having ineffective spells at the club last season.
Mohamed Salah’s loan spell at Roma last season became a permanent move for a fee of 14.5m, whilst Papy Djilobodji made the move to Sunderland for 8m.
After the tour of America ended, Conte said he knew which players did not feature in his plans for the upcoming season and would be going out on loan. The likes of Baba Rahman, Bertrand Traoré and Michael Hector all have left on loan deals since then, whilst Nathan Aké, Lewis Baker and Tomàš Kalas all left at the beginning of July.
The futures of Juan Cuadrado and Loic Rémy are still uncertain at the club after being linked with moves away.
Looking ahead to the season
Antonio Conte has done an excellent job in pre-season getting the team physically, and mentally, prepared for the new campaign with results in friendlies showing that the players are adapting to his tactics well.
Although many expected Conte to use the 3-5-2 system at Chelsea, the Italian has adapted to the players at his disposal and looks to be going into the first game of the season playing a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 system.
Conte: 'We've found 2 different tactical solutions. In the future it can change. I hope to very quickly find the right fit.' #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 12, 2016
Chelsea team today: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta, Kante, Willian, Oscar, Matic, Hazard, Diego Costa. #CFCTour
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 7, 2016
With no European competitions this season, Conte’s focus will be on getting Chelsea back into the Champions League and with that challenging for the Premier League title.
Key Player to Watch
Eden Hazard
The Belgian endured a difficult campaign last season, struggling with injuries and lack of form when in the side.
In pre-season, Hazard has scored three times and assisted once in his three appearances.
The No. 10 though is regarded to be one of the best players in the world and proved that with his displays in Chelsea’s title winning season back in 2014-2015 season.
A special type of player, it’ll be interesting to see how Conte manages a player like Hazard during this season. His ability on the ball going forward makes him one of the best players in his position, however it’s his defensive work and attitude at times which has been often criticised in the past. With how Conte sets his team about in attacking and defensive phases, a player like Hazard cannot be guaranteed a spot in the team if he doesn’t work for the team like Conte wants.
New Chelsea coach Antonio Conte speaks during a press conference before their International Champions Cup (ICC) game against Liverpool, at the UCLA Campus in Westwood, California on July 26, 2016. AFP / Mark Ralston / Getty Images
Final Thoughts
After wins for Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United on the opening weekend, it’s important Conte gets off to a winning start against West Ham. As for the rest of the season, I’m confident Chelsea have made the right decision in hiring Antonio Conte for his first job outside of Italy. The pressure is definitely on the former Juventus boss to deliver in his first season a return to the Champions League and even a trophy, whether it be the FA Cup or the Premier League title. Roman Abrahimovic has a track record of sacking managers if results aren’t delivered. Just ask Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Di Matteo or Jose Mourinho, the trio all delivered targets set only to be sacked the following season.
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