antonio conte happy
You’ve been in the dugout before with Antonio Conte in the stands, how does he handle it?
When Antonio is on the touchline, he lives with passion every game but probably he struggles more when he stays in the crowd and so it explains how Antonio lives his job. He’s very passionate and if he cannot communicate with us he struggles a lot. Only this.
What do you make of Antonio’s difficult record in the Champions League as a manager?
We keep working hard to improve. Antonio is one of the best in the game and in this competition even if not done well historically, he remains one of the best in the world, he gives the players the best chance to progress. As a coach he’s always working hard to improve and improve our staff as well.
What have you learned from the first tie?
Yes we suffered during the game. Marseille were strong opponents. Big parts of the game were balanced, other parts when Marseille had more and parts when we were on top and the game when back and forth. We also had moments when we were on top and should have capitalised on this.
Which players are definitely out tomorrow?
We have not available Kulusevski, Richarlison and Romero. The other players are available to play the match.
You have conceded first in eight of the last 11 games, how do you stop that?
Yes, this is one of the key messages we gave to the players. In the last period, we worked a lot to change this routine. It happened a lot in the last period, when we conceded first and we were slow in the first half. It’s normal in this period that we have not the energy to play 90 minutes with greater intensity but it happens more in the first half. It’s a key message we sent to the players and we work on this aspect to create a perfect solution to start well. It will be hard for 90 minutes and we have to start well. We work in the last two weeks to improve this aspect.
How exactly will it work with Antonio tomorrow?
He will sit next to Gianluca. He will be here at the stadium. He will work with us until we arrive here. Then we have to stop the communication and he will stay close to Gianluca but we are preparing well the game and strategies. Antonio prepared like always the game. Our strategies are clear in every game and we have to play our match the best. Everyone has to do something more to fill the gap.
Igor Tudor played and managed in Italy, what do you think of his style?
He’s a friend of Antonio, they played in the same team. They are really close friends. We know him well. He worked in Italy and the way he learns to create a way that he works with his team. We know as well it will be very hard to play against Marseille because this manager is a very tough manager, he mixes intensity and quality. Marseille is very good in quality and this year they have increased intensity in every game. They start very well this season. It will be important to do our best because for sure it will be a tough game.
At half-time are you expecting to be able to speak to Conte before you speak to the players and will he deliver a team talk on the coach?
We are not allowed to speak to Antonio at half-time. He will stay on the coach with the players. We will use two different coaches.
We will drive our way and we will go in the dressing room and Antonio will go in another seat. After the game, after 15 minutes, we are allowed to speak again.
What’s going to change without Antonio involved before and during the game?
It changes a lot. The presence of a coach like Conte, both before the game and the week leading up to it and during the match, is just indispensable. Especially a tough match like this where it’s going to be intense until the final whistle.
It’s a change that’s difficult but we have to prepare ourselves altogether before the match. It’s a totally different world because normally the days before the game, Antonio will do all his preparation himself, alone. But now, we have to do this all together so it changes everything. We have to work on the strategy and this can become complex. However, we’ve already gone through this together in our time at Inter so we know what to do when he’s not there.
Luckily, I’m not there on my own. We’ve got the whole staff, such as Ryan Mason, alongside me so that makes me feel better.
