Antonio Conte has explained why he turned down Tottenham in the summer and what it took for him to take the job when they came calling a second time.
Conte was named as Nuno Espirito Santo’s replacement earlier this month, with the Portuguese boss sacked after just ten games in charge.
His arrival at the club has been heralded as a masterstroke by Daniel Levy, with many feeling the Italian coach can turn Tottenham into contenders once more.
It proved to be second time lucky for the Spurs supremo, who targeted Conte in the summer after he had left Inter Milan, but was met with rejection by the Italian coach.
That is why some were surprised to see him take the job this time around, with little having changed since he rejected the club in the summer.
Conte has now moved to explain the situation, revealing it was the project that Levy put in front of him which proved too difficult to say no to.
“Only the allure of the Premier could have convinced me to get back on track so soon,” he told Gazzetta Dello Sport.
“When president Levy first approached me in June, I thanked him, but I didn’t feel like it. The two years with Inter had left a lot of toxins to digest. It was an exhausting and hard work. I needed a break.
“I’m talking about the ambition and desire to excel that the owners have already put in place, providing the club with incredible facilities.
“From the stadium, which is a jewel of modernity and comfort, costing a billion euros, to a sports centre that leaves you speechless: without a doubt the best I’ve ever seen. I thought that such an organised reality deserved sports results in line.
“I saw the challenge in front of me, the light that makes me multiply my energies lit up in my eyes. But now we have two gaps to close.”
Conte has never shied away from a challenge in his career and has succeeded pretty much everywhere he has gone as a result.
His success with Inter Milan over the last two years was one of his biggest successes so far, taking them to the top of the table and breaking Juventus’ hold on the Scudetto.
Tottenham are hoping for a similar sort of transformation, having once been close to challenging under Mauricio Pochettino but falling away in the last few years.
That’s certainly been the case for them this season, and Conte admits they are one of the most difficult jobs he has taken on.
“I’ve always taken teams that were coming from difficult times, where you had to rebuild,” he added.
“Juve were out of the Cups; the national team were out of the group stage at the 2014 World Cup, Chelsea were coming from tenth place, Inter hadn’t won since 2010…
“I’ve never made comfortable choices, but this Tottenham one is certainly the most difficult and therefore the most challenging.”
