Antonio Conte named Juventus coach

Published May. 31, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Former Juventus captain Antonio Conte says he's fulfilling a dream by becoming the coach.

Conte was appointed as the new coach after agreeing to a two-year deal with the two-time European Champion on Tuesday.

''It feels like I'm coming home as I have always dreamed of coaching this team,'' Conte said. ''We have a good base to build on in the squad. We didn't challenge for the title last season and that has left some of the players a little deluded. We need the right type of motivation for next season because we have a very good squad.''

Juventus has already been active in the transfer market and brought in World Cup-winning midfielder Andrea Pirlo from AC Milan.

Even though Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has promised a sizable transfer budget, the likelihood is that Conte will continue to rely on veterans Alessandro Del Piero and Gianlugi Buffon to lead the side.

''Del Piero and Buffon are still very useful for the team,'' Conte did. ''They are proven winners and have a great work ethic.

''We will have to have a proper look at our transfer targets and find players that fit into how I want the team to play.''

Conte joins Juventus from Siena, which he guided to promotion to Serie A this season. It was the second time he led a team into the topflight, after Bari was promoted in 2009.

He replaces Luigi Delneri, who failed to take Juventus into Europe with a seventh-place finish in the league.

It completed an underwhelming season in which Juventus was eliminated from the Europa League at the group stage despite drawing all six of its games.

''We want to be winning and we want to get back to doing so under Antonio Conte,'' Agnelli said. ''He is the first piece of the jigsaw that will get us back to winning ways.''

Conte has twice been linked to the Juventus coaching post, but lost out to Claudio Ranieri in 2009 and Ciro Ferrara in 2010.

He played for Juventus from 1991 until he retired in 2004 and scored 44 goals in 419 games. He was part of the team that won the 1996 Champions League, the 1993 UEFA Cup and also helped the club to five Serie A titles.

Conte was also in the Italy squad that reached the final of the 1994 World Cup and scored one of his two international goals on the way to Italy finishing the 2000 European Championships second.

''The main objective for me is to put the team in a position to challenge for trophies,'' Conte said. ''Our history demands we do so. We need the right attitude and approach to work and then we can return to where we should be.''