Antonio Conte’s first full season since his Tottenham exit has led to him winning the Serie A title with Napoli.
He’s won the title with three Italian sides and has cemented himself as one of the best managers in the history of the competition. Conte has won silverware at every major club he’s managed apart from Spurs.
The manager’s time with the London club isn’t the greatest section of his CV, and now Conte has opened up about his time at Tottenham.
He spoke to Sky Italia in detail about the multiple chapters of his career and when speaking speaking about Spurs, he said:
“It was a difficult year at Tottenham. I arrived in November with them ninth in the standings and we ended up in the Champions League, overtaking Arsenal and you know the rivalry between the two clubs. For them, going to the Champions League was like winning the Premier League.”
The Italian explained that he didn’t want his staff to get used to celebrating qualifying for the Champions League.
“On the last day, the Champions League entry was celebrated in the dressing room. I called my staff and told them: we don’t get used to these celebrations. You don’t celebrate these things. We are used to celebrating other things. OK, great feat, but at the same time we understand what kind of celebration it is.”
Going further into reasons for his exit, Conte said that the deaths of Gian Piero Ventrone and Gianluca Vialli had a major impact on his mental state.
“The following year a few things happened, Gian Piero Ventrone died of leukemia in fifteen days and it was a terrible blow on an emotional and psychological level and it wasn’t easy.
“Then Gianluca Vialli also passed away, with whom I had met the month before at a restaurant with my wife. I had seen him very calm, he was even fine, but during that dinner I understood that something was wrong. You notice it when someone is enjoying something, he had drunk, eaten and after a month he passed away.”
The Napoli manager also spoke of Sinisa Mihajlovic’s death and the impact it had on him and this led to him reconsidering his priorities in life at Tottenham.
“Sinisa’s story also had an impact. A series of pains that made me rethink some priorities. I had my family far away, in Italy, while I was in a hotel. My wife had always made an effort for me. So I asked myself: how much is it worth sacrificing family and friends for this knowing that from one day to the next you find yourself facing tragedies of this kind and no longer being there? This made me change some priorities.
“Then I also had a problem and I had to urgently have gallbladder surgery and I was at risk of getting pancreatitis. In short, that period made me think a lot about the priorities.”
Conte’s words are understandable, especially given the number of personal tragedies around him and the relatively short time period that happened in. A return to Italy was therefore no surprise, and despite the usual stressed around the manager, he almost left Napoli after winning the league, he’s had a very successful return.
The Italian’s impact on Tottenham remains to some degree. A raft of players who won the Europa League were signed under Conte and he played a part in their development at the Premier League club.
