who is Conte’s deputy, why did he stay at Tottenham- Corriere.it

why Christian Stellini? What an adventure of With you was at the end of the line, it was clear: too many rumors that saw him involved, too many outbursts at the team that weren’t appreciated. But what is behind the decision to make the coach’s deputy the new number one? On the one hand, the motivations appear to be economic. On the other hand, that of giving confidence on the pitch to those who have always been appreciated by their players in the dressing room.

Stellini’s results when he replaced Conte

The results prove it, or at least some of them. Conte’s first absence (gallbladder surgery) he had brought in Stellini to lead the team against Manchester City (1-0 win); then the coach had returned and there had been the very heavy 4-1 defeats against Leicester and the one at Milan’s home in the Champions League. Then again the stop (necessary to recover from the operation) and the return of the deputy: two wins (West Ham and above all Chelsea) and two defeats (Sheffield in the FA Cup and Wolverhampton). In the following weeks, some mechanism between the team and Conte gradually broke down, up to those statements against the players who had shaken the environment. Too. So the property moved: consensual resolution but only with the Apulian coach.

The reason for the confirmation

Without the staff also being included in the agreement. For this we found ourselves at a crossroads: the resignation of Stellini (and of all the others), with consequent renunciation by the latter of their salary from now until the end of the season; or the exemption, with the owner who would therefore have had to opt for another solution, almost certainly expensive, and perhaps also binding for the next few seasons. A stalemate that was resolved with the promotion of the deputy who has always remained linked to the figure of the former Juventus and Inter coach but that inside the locker room result much appreciated by the players, despite the tense climate.

The Survivors, the team made up of refugees and asylum seekers

In 2010 Stellini had begun to Sienaprecisely with Conte, who a Bari (his last position as a player) had coached him for two seasons, from 2007 to 2009. Then he had moved to Juventus, but his experience lasted only one year due to his resignation due to his involvement with Calcioscommesse (he had negotiated a 2-year and 6-month disqualification, plus a fine of 50 thousand euros). After that year, he had decided to stay on the field but away from the spotlight, choosing to train i Survivorsa local reality in Turin made up of refugee players and asylum seekers. They taught me a lot, he said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, because you come into contact with truly different realities. Curiosity and the desire to discover have never lacked him and therefore he had chosen young people to start again: in 2015 he returned to the Genoa whom he had known as a footballer, to coach the Primavera. So, after a few months in Alexandria, Conte’s new call to Inter (but this time as deputy) and that of Tottenhamwhich can now give him the opportunity of a whole career.

A rough but not harsh trainer

Those who know him well say that the differences with Conte are minimal. Very meticulous on the pitch, often as deputy he happened to stop training to give the players directions on movements and above all on attitude. rough, but not hard. And he knows how to use diplomacy when he serves. His creed for pragmatic football, unspectacular but useful to try to win. And maybe to keep that fourth place which in ten Premier League matches he will have to defend as the last real goal of a season, that of Tottenham, which is not very positive.

The last (and only) experience as a head coach

After that, the property will decide. The conditions that he can be the coach again next year are currently few, but with thirty points available many things can change. As well as Stellini’s desire to try to lead a first team independently. It had happened in Alessandria in 2017, but the exemption had arrived after a few months. He was certainly less experienced, but his ideas were already clear. Now I will have the opportunity to repeat them.