“I hope we can surprise people, that there is a small flame flickering that can grow into a blazing inferno,” explained new Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte as he was unveiled to the media for the first time since leaving his post with the Italian national team.
Nearly 11 months on from saying those exact words, Conte has turned the flickering flame into a full roaring fire, but he’s there’s still some way off reaching the heights he predicted for himself. Now it’s time for Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea board to step up and let the Italian orchestrate the ‘blazing inferno’ that can commence at Stamford Bridge if he is backed this summer.
The former Juventus manager is on the brink of completing a historic double during his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, exceeding all the expectations that were placed on his when he first took over, but he saw all of this coming.
After the horror show that was the club’s last title defence, the Blues were on their knees, in desperate need of a rebuild and looked no further than the Italian who had done just that with Juventus, who are now revelling in the blueprint set up by Conte through the years in Turin.
Conte is still yet to put pen paper on a new deal at Stamford Bridge amid rumours of Inter Milan hoping to prize him away from the club this summer. While there is an air of expectancy around the club that he will sign a new deal, the Blues need to get it wrapped up swiftly, so they can focus on the huge job at hand this summer.
During Jose Mourinho’s third season in charge during his return to the club, they failed to strengthen the squad. A late panic buy of Pedro from Barcelona was not enough to raise the bar for the current squad who wilted to a 10th place finish. Judging by the high standards he has set throughout the season, you can only imagine that Conte will not settle for the same treatment this time around.
Why should he? The head coach arrived at Stamford Bridge and played ‘Mr. Nice guy’ for a few weeks before ripping up the rule book and doing things his way. It was his way that delivered the Premier League title, a potential double-winning campaign, the chance to finish the season with the second highest points tally ever (93), only two points off the 95 points Mourinho set during his first tenure with the club.
Chelsea have dominated the Premier League this season, they have consistently been the best team, despite those two defeats that everyone else remembers against Liverpool and Arsenal at the beginning of the season.
At the first time of asking, he has taken the club straight back into the Champions League and wants to have a real good go at winning the competition for the second time in the club’s history.
Twitter: Antonio Conte celebrating like a player! And singing: “Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea!”
https://t.co/7NCN4yH3aU (@FabrizioRomano)
To do that, he will need to seriously strengthen. Conte has been ruthless all season and it’s at this stage where he will need to be just that.
The Italian will need two or three top class players to add to his current squad and don’t forget the transfer rumours that are surrounding his own players.
It’s never been ‘the Chelsea way’ to build a dynasty and who knows if it ever will. Be that both at Stamford Bridge or throughout the Premier League, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see a manager have the same effect on one club the way Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson did throughout the 90s and early 2000s.
What Conte can do is set up a platform for future success. Throughout his short stint with the club so far he has already changed the DNA of the club, he’s changed the mentality and the culture. He’s slowly bridging the gap between experience, youth and success.
When it was announced that John Terry would be leaving the club last season, there was uproar, the Blues needed him, and that they did, not that his playing time this season would suggest. Regardless, the club captain has been a key figure in the title charge this season.
Through the change of system and upturn in fortunes, Conte has slowly phased Terry out of the equation at Stamford Bridge in the most respectful way possible.
Nathan Ake is beginning to break into the first-team squad and appears to be very much in Conte’s immediate plans for next season. Andreas Christensen will return from his two-year loan spell in the Bundesliga this summer, with a lot expected of the young Danish defender.
Nathaniel Chalobah, a player that Conte has taken quite the fancy to after his Italian experience with Napoli, has broken into the first-team squad this summer. All young players who’s value to the squad to will truly be shown next season if the club wants to compete on four fronts, with the addition of European football to contend with.
As if he just flicked a switch, Conte adapted to life in the Premier League with ease. He immersed himself in everything that it means to be involved with Chelsea, he embraced the culture by building his own at the club.
He’s built a squad, a family, a team that battles together without the ‘us against the world’ mentality that Mourinho needed to bring the best out of his players. His side are kicking every ball for him, winning every tackle for him, he’s one of them.
Conte has built himself a brilliant platform to become a legend within the four corners of SW6, now he needs the tools and resources to finish the job.
