Chelsea FC: How Antonio Conte Has Got Chelsea Playing Like Champions Again

Antonio Conte has transformed Chelsea since he took over

Antonio Conte had what the Italians call occhi umidi. Windows to the soul, his eyes steamed up and began to blink, the lids acting like wipers to wash away the tears.

“If I hadn’t already signed for Chelsea, I wouldn’t have been able to abandon that group of lads,” he told Sky Italia’s Paolo Condo. The lads to whom Conte referred were his Italy players. Recalling their experience at Euro 2016 choked him up.

“In the 50 days we spent together, we created something unique and extraordinary; a family,” he said. “When we lost to Germany, we cried because we knew we wouldn’t see each other the following day.”

The Chelsea hierarchy did well to act swiftly and get Conte to commit to Stamford Bridge back in April – that is, before heart might overrule head. It would be wrong to call him a big softy who likes a cuddle every bit as much as Carlo Ancelotti, but the importance of being a family man to his management style often takes a backseat in the driving narrative of him as a win-at-all-costs, meticulous tactician who doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

Andrea Pirlo christened the dressing room at the Juventus Stadium “Cape Canaveral” – home of the Kennedy Space Center – because of the number of objects launched into the air when Conte entered to deliver his half-time team talks. The Any Given Sunday-style speech he gave back in his first season at Juventus, imploring his players to make their title rivals “shit blood”, only added to his tough-guy image.

CUTTING CLOTH

But there is a sense and sensibility about Conte, a lighter touch that has perhaps come as the biggest surprise to his new players. Starting a new family in west London meant walking into a broken home. Champions a year ago, a tight-knit team had come apart at the seams, torn asunder by Jose Mourinho, who himself unravelled.

Luckily, Conte announced himself as a tailor at his unveiling. The definition related to cutting his cloth according to the characteristics of the players available to him. It came in relation to whether he would play 3-5-2 or not, rather than how exactly he would stitch this team back together again. In order to do that, however, it wouldn’t be enough on its own to be a tailor.

It’s not uncommon in Italy for coaches to liken the job they do to that of an exorcist. There are teams that go through so much trauma in such a short space of time that they become tormented by inner demons, needing someone to banish them.

Conte is that man. He immediately took Juventus back to the top after back-to-back seventh-placed finishes in Serie A. As for Italy, two years on from being knocked out at the group stage of another World Cup, he made them the best team at Euro 2016. They didn’t win the tournament in France (Germany knocked them out on penalties in their quarter final), but no team played better football. A similar task awaited him at Chelsea – the worst defending champions English football had known since Everton in 1971.

PICKING UP

Over the past six weeks, Conte has made the job look like a piece of cake – a tiramisu, literally translated as ‘pick me up’, in every sense of the word. Chelsea have gone from eighth to top of the Premier League, winning seven straight league matches for the first time since 2007. Poignantly, Conte beat Jose Mourinho in a statement win against Manchester United. Last Saturday, his team defeated Tottenham, the league’s last unbeaten side. Christian Eriksen’s goal was the first Chelsea had conceded in more than 10 hours of league football.

David Luiz is no longer a punchline. Marcos Alonso is unrecognisable from his Sunderland and Bolton days. Who knew Cesar Azpilicueta could play centre back? Victor Moses has been a revelation, recycled after loans at Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham, and repurposed as a wing-back. Eden Hazard is back to his PFA Player of the Year best. Pedro looks the player he was under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, while Diego Costa is now channelling his aggression towards scoring goals. Champions less than 18 months ago, Chelsea are playing like champions again.

It shouldn’t be taken for granted. Conte had a week’s holiday before taking the job. The Euros meant pre-season was shorter than usual. He didn’t get his first-choice transfer targets. Luiz, for instance, was a fallback option. Radja Nainggolan decided to stay at Roma. Alvaro Morata was serious about making it at Real Madrid. Conte himself had to get to grips with the language barrier, ensuring his message got across.

MANAGING CHANGE

There were cultural issues as well. Premier League teams are not used to long hours of tactical sessions, shadow play and video analysis. Plus, Chelsea is deeply political. Conte has had to manage the John Terry situation and the expectations of one of the most demanding owners in football. After defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal in September, betting on Chelsea sacking Conte was briefly suspended – although sources at the club insist there was never any truth in it.

The switch to a 3-4-3 formation in the second half against Arsenal is now considered the turning point in Chelsea’s season. Conte achieved great success with three at the back at Juventus, of course, but he is no one-system guy. This was a stick used to beat him when he returned to Juve as coach in 2011. At the time, local journalists claimed his teams played only one way – and that wasn’t 3-5-2, but 4-2-4. That was how Conte had got Bari and Siena up to Serie A, and would be the formation he went to first at Chelsea. Ultimately, for the 47-year-old, it’s about the characteristics of the players available and striking the right balance.

The tailor has cut his cloth accordingly, and found that 3-4-3 suits Chelsea best, just as 3-5-2 suited Juventus and 4-2-4 suited Bari and Siena. The exorcist in Conte has rid Chelsea of their demons, while the family man has brought the team together and put a smile on his players’ faces.

This is the very essence of Contismo, as Manchester City and Pep Guardiola will discover on Saturday.

Talksport.