On May 31, 2019, Inter appointed Antonio Conte as the new manager. Inter Milan won their first league match of the season with a 4–0 win against Lecce and throughout the season they had been a major threat to Juventus’ reign over the Scudetto. In the end, Inter fell just one point short of Juve and promises for a better 2020-21 under the charismatic stewardship of Conte.
Inter CEO Beppe Marotta praised Conte about his
efforts saying, “The second place is the confirmation of a project that has
been underway since the beginning of this season. The fact that we have matched
the points earned in the Treble season, that we have set the away goals record,
and maintained the best defense in the league are great facts, but the priority
is to have created a model for the seasons to follow. So, I have to thank the
management for the support given to the team”.
“I would talk about mentality, we have to think in a winning
way, thinking about bringing home the result, fighting for every point and
maybe sometimes putting the idea of a good game in the background”.
“Thinking back to some points dropped along the way there’s
a certain regret, but it’s not easy to find a coach like Conte who is capable
of achieving results like that in his first year, he should be praised.”
Even the Italian press praised Conte a lot, but the manager
thinks otherwise!
Reports in Italy suggest Inter are likely to part ways with
Antonio Conte this summer, with former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri
lined up as a potential replacement.
Since arriving in the summer, Conte has spent more than
£170m on new signings, but has nonetheless been openly critical of the Inter
board. CEO Beppe Marotta was forced to publicly distance himself from Conte's
comments in the wake of the Atalanta win, which took aim at president Steven
Zhang, claiming that he had been given 'no protection' from those above him.
An annoyed Conte said, “I don't think they work of the players has been recognized and I don't think my work has been recognized," he said, before accusing unnamed club members of only showing their faces when things were going well”.
“We all received very little protection from the club,
absolutely zero”.
According to Reuters, “That left Italian media including
Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport wondering, is he thinking of
resigning? Will the club fire him? Was he referring to any particular director,
such as chief executive Giuseppe Marotta, sporting director Piero Ausilio, or
even club president Steven Zhang”?
“Conte also said nothing had changed at Inter since an
interview given by his predecessor Luciano Spalletti - an apparent reference to
Spalletti's claim there was a ‘mole’ in the Inter dressing-room who leaked team
gossip to the media”.
These claims look to have crossed a line with the Inter
hierarchy, and Sky Italia report that unless something 'changes sensationally',
Inter will move in another direction this summer.
The Inter-Conte relationship has reached some sort of
crossroads and after a satisfactory season, this is not good for the team and
Italian Serie A. Conte is someone who has brought the competitiveness in Serie
A, which was once dubbed as a one-way traffic.
Certainly, the likes of Conte’s Inter, Pioli’s AC Milan,
Atalanta and Inzaghi's Lazio have brought back the flavour of 90s and 90s to a
certain aspect and one hopes, in the next season such teams would give Juve a
run for their money.
Now, if Conte leaves, it would take the sheen-off Italian
Serie A and the followers of Serie A would not be happy with that.
Whatever the indifferences exist between Inter and Conte
should be solved as soon as possible.
The Italian Serie A need Conte.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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