«Antonio Conte, away from Tottenham»: storm in England – Corriere.it

There has never been a real honeymoon, but now the relationship between Antonio Conte and Tottenham could derail into a bitter divorce, for some even before the natural expiry of the contract expected for next summer. The renewal is a mirage, in light of what is happening around White Hart Lane. Fourth place in the Premier League does not seem to be able to compensate for the recent eliminations with Sheffield in the Fa Cup and with Stefano Pioli’s Milan in the Champions League. A disgruntled square is now exasperated by the Salento coach’s constant winks at a possible future in Italy, Inter or any other club. If on the one hand rumors spread, without any denials, on the other English players, fans and media seem to have definitively abandoned Conte and his methods. «Victories are not invented, but they are realized day by day through dedication and hard work,” said the coach during a press conference some time ago. Months later, these results have never been achieved (a transfer market worth 170 million by the club should not be forgotten, in order to satisfy the wishes of the coach). It is therefore no coincidence that the Spurs fans, facing a Milan celebrating their conquest of the quarter-finals, then returned to sing the hymns that have paid homage to the Argentine coach for years Mauricio Pochettinoon the Tottenham bench from 2014 to 2020, complete with the Champions League final reached in 2019. Pochettino is one of the solutions that the club is evaluating for the after Conte, because the management is increasingly convinced that perhaps it is not the case to continue not even this season with the former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter coach.

The media storm

There is one of the most convinced detractors of the Italian coach former Blackburn forward Chris Sutton, today a columnist and commentator. The BBC reports words that leave no room for many interpretations, shared by many other observers. “Faced with such a climate, it is better for Conte to leave immediately”, said Sutton during the Monday Night Club program on BBC 5, despite the fact that the coach still won 41 of the 76 matches he faced with his team. «There are no ideas for a future commitment, there is little conviction to face the rest of the season together. I respect him very much and basically I would like him to renew, but what has happened in the last few days and his unwillingness to solve the current problems lead me to say that it is better to take a completely different path then, without “floating” unnecessarily. The involution compared to last year can be seen. If Tottenham want to shake things up, they have to make a clear-cut decision right away.”

Release or termination?

Sutton suggests an exemption or in any case a termination of the contract as soon as possible. The fans are of the same opinion and are now openly aligned against the coach. Conte – who returned to England after convalescing in Italy on the eve of the Champions League match against Milan – then said: “I respect the contract and at the end of the season we’ll make the right assessments, I’ll have my say in the most serene way”. A sentence for which the whole environment showed a certain impatience, promptly reported by all the British media, among whom Conte has never enjoyed particular sympathy. The results would have been the last foothold. For the current season, these too have disappeared.

The alternatives

If rumors grow about the Salento coach’s possible return to his homeland, also for family reasons since his loved ones have continued to live in Turin despite his move to England, on the other hand the president Daniel Levy is examining all possible alternatives. maybe ready right away. In addition to the return of Pochettino, after an unsatisfactory experience at PSG, Spurs are evaluating the profiles of Louis Enriqueformer coach of Spain, and of the former Chelsea Thomas Tuchel. Indiscretions from English media such as the Sun, however, give many opportunities to an emerging coach like Marco Silva of Fulham. The Portuguese is also doing very well in the Premier League, where his team are eighth, after last year’s promotion to the top flight. His contract with the Cottagers will expire in 2024, but as in many other cases it will depend on the will of the Spurs dressing room, from Harry Kane and by his companions, increasingly inclined to prefer another technical guide to Conte’s. The goal is always the same, to renew a palmares that has been stagnant for 15 years, since the team won the League Cup in the 2007-08 season.