The extremely bitter feud between Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho captivated everybody in the football world early on in 2018, as both men seemed intent on getting the last word in. It’s subsided and quieted for now, but with Chelsea and Manchester United set to clash again 10 days from now in a Premier League fixture, this individual rivalry will be back in the news again soon.
With that in mind, Conte was the subject of a bizarre prank by an Italian TV show today. Conte met the media Thursday ahead of the weekend’s FA Cup fifth round clash against Hull City.
Here’s the zaniness that ensued:
Bizarre!
An Italian TV show presented Antonio Conte with a Man Utd shirt signed by Jose Mourinho during the Chelsea manager's press conference on Thursday. ? pic.twitter.com/zsRfjGpTeS
— GOAL (@goal) February 15, 2018
Stefano Corti and Alessandro Onnis, from the Italian satirical television show Le Iene, were earlier able to trick Mourinho into signing a red Manchester United replica shirt with Antonio Conte and #1 printed on the back. Today, Corti presented it to Conte along with a video message on a tablet.
The video was not visible to the assembled media, only to Conte and the Chelsea press officer. The message, spoken mostly in Italian, said: “Antonio, we sent you a messenger. A present for you from your brand new friend, Jose Mourinho! He told us he loves you. Look at what he has written on the present he sent out for you: ‘Your friend, Jose.’
“Can you promise us that next time you play against him you will share a sign of peace? Come on, Antonio…you will be friends forever!”
Conte had a little laugh at the message, but said he had “nothing” to say. Corti then presented the Blues boss with shirt, telling him: “This is a present for you. It is signed by Jose Mourinho – ‘To my friend Antonio’. Long live friendship… shall I leave it to you?”
(you can watch the full video, with subtitles at this link)
Conte didn’t seem to amused by the whole scene. He could hardly be described as bemused either, and his responded to Corti: “No, you can take it with you. Keep it, you will give it to me later.”
During the publicity stunt (which seems to be working quite well because media worldwide are giving this prank plenty of publicity) the Chelsea media relations professional told Corti to sit down and let the press conference continue.
The Chelsea rep thanked him for his effort, but reminded him that time is limited in this press conference, and that he really should have done the video and shirt presentation afterward; as Corti was taking time away from journalists with actual questions.
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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