Will Antonio Conte, who led Chelsea to the league title last season, get sacked if the Blues don’t qualify for Champions League? Only CFC owner Roman Abramovich knows for sure, but Conte said before the Blues’ 3-1 home loss to rival Tottenham Hotspur that he is not worried about losing his job in this scenario.
Why is he not worried about his losing his current gig? Well, according to someone very close to him, he’s almost looking forward to leaving Stamford Bridge. Conte’s friend and former Blues boss Gianluca Vialli says the manager of the current Premier League champions “can’t wait to leave Chelsea,” as he’s become frustrated with the lack of influence he has on the club’s transfer policy.
“There is no longer that sacred fire that characterized all of Chelsea’s performances last season,” Vialli told the Sky Sports outlet in his/Conte’s home country of Italy.
“It seems to me that the attitude is different, maybe because they are not in the running for the title and so they stopped believing. I think Antonio has got problems such as sharing his choices with the club during transfers. I think the players see this.”
With the odds on Antonio Conte getting the sack remaining favorable, Luis Enrique is considered the favorite to replace him, according to bookmakers. Vialli sees Enrique as Conte’s potential successor as well. As for Conte’s next job, he’s been linked already with Paris Saint-Germain, among other clubs, and should see a high demand for his services.
“I would be surprised to see Conte at Chelsea next season because I think he is almost looking forward to leaving, and I also think that Chelsea want to change, they want something new, maybe a manager who is more of a corporate man – people have been talking about Luis Enrique,” Vialli added.
“Antonio, I don’t know, maybe Paris Saint-Germain. I guess clubs will be queuing up for him, so many clubs will want him, also our national team.
“I think Antonio will find a place to start working from and will win something important.”
That’s an interesting thought right there- the idea of Antonio Conte going back to his last job, as Italian national team manager.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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