Tottenham Hotspur appointing Antonio Conte has received a lot of praise, from the club’s fans and the media in both the UK and Italy.
It’s seen as a big step for Spurs, and a sign that they have ambitious plans for the future, because otherwise it’s not thought the manager would have taken the job.
Despite the widespread praise, not everyone is fully convinced by either Conte or his ability to have a positive impact at Spurs in the long term.
One of the detractors is Italian TV journalist Fabio Ravezzani, who on Tuesday has attacked the manager, and his recent history.
Quoted by Calciomercato, Ravezzani said: “Conte left after disintegrating Inter, as already happened at Juventus. Always plays the game against the club and breaks the environment. He stayed another year after the famous Villa Bellini, then he won the Scudetto and left, leaving them and getting €7m in severance pay. After explaining to us that the team was not up to par, he signed for Tottenham, which is a team vastly inferior to Inter, for eighteen months. And in six months the contract will already expire: does this seem serious to you? Not me. In Italy no one takes him anymore.”
Villa Bellini is where Conte had a summit with Inter’s leadership after his first season in charge of the Serie A club. It was thought he could have left Inter then, such was the strain in his relationship with the owners, but he ended up staying and then won the league.
There were also tensions during Conte’s time in charge of Juventus, but Tottenham fans won’t worry too much about that, they’ll be happy with a manager who will pressure the club’s board.
