Gianluigi Buffon

"Excellent" Conte can make Chelsea great again, says Buffon

Published Jun. 19, 2016 4:01 a.m. ET

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Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon believes that Antonio Conte will be "excellent" for Chelsea when the national team coach takes over after Euro 2016.

Buffon, who credits Conte's methods for Italy claiming back-to-back wins from their first two Euro 2016 games, worked with the Italian at Juventus until 2014, where the incoming Chelsea boss won three successive Serie A titles.

And the Juventus and Italy legend believes that the Blues have managed to appoint a fantastic coach to lead them into the 2016-17 season.

"Conte is a big coach and I'm convinced he will be an excellent one at Chelsea. A Conte team is strong in defence and works constantly, day to day. Conte is a coach with a very simple idea," Buffon said.

"For the players he makes it very clear. He wants to play without risk in the defensive line and to exploit the opportunities to score goals when they come.

"This appears easy but he always wants more. So to go where we want we need to do whatever the coach asks of us.

As well as a strong will to win, Buffon suggested that Conte is an effective man manager, remaining close to his players and helpful in the dressing room.

"He is a strong character but in his personal dealings with players he is close to them, that's important for any dressing room. He always has a lot of dialogue with his players and I don't think there'll be problems."

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Gianluigi Buffon

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