Antonio Conte appears to be turning Chelsea into an imitation of the Juventus team which he led to much success. This is not a bad thing for the Blues.
For those of you who have watched Chelsea’s start to the season, you would have noticed the significant difference. Since Antonio Conte’s arrival, Chelsea’s transformation from a middling and average football club into a pragmatic and hard-fighting machine has been nothing short of an incredible transformation.
Under Conte’s guidance, the Blues have turned themselves into a totally different side than they were under Jose Mourinho last season. One of the big things that last season’s Chelsea team lacked was identity. Without the old heads of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech they completely lacked any form of leadership and fighting spirit.
The qualities that in past years made Chelsea great had gone missing in action. The West Londoners fell into a pit of despair, the likes of which only Dante could truly describe.
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However, Chelsea now have Antonio Conte at the helm. In fact, the Stamford Bridge officials should have hired him years ago, but it’s better late than never. Chelsea signed the Italian this summer and his impact is already immense. He has set about building Chelsea into a team that will in time (admittedly, a fair amount) be back atop the heap in the Premier League and challenging for European honors.
Juventus for long have been one of the best-run clubs in Europe. Not simply in the style that they play on the field but in the way the club is managed at an office level as well. Chelsea could do well to take a few leaves from Juve’s book as an organization. Luckily, it appears that in signing Antonio Conte they have.
After the game against Swansea their manager Francesco Guidolin said that he saw Juventus in the way that Chelsea play.
For character, for intensity, I saw the Juventus team. I saw his way of managing the team. With Chelsea, the shape is different but he’s the same. – via Daily Mail
If this is true then Chelsea fans can look forward to the future. The next step will be seeing if the club can find a transfer guru and mastermind like Giuseppe Marotta to help Conte in his transformation.
Michael Emenalo’s efforts have been criticised extensively. If the Blues can bring in someone with seemingly better negotiating skills, the club will be a force to be reckoned with.
However, in the meantime, Conte is doing his best to leave his mark on the product on the pitch. Some say imitation is not a sustainable model for success. Having said that, Chelsea could do a lot worse than turning into the Old Lady of the Premier League.
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