Serial winner Antonio Conte must learn how to lose following Inter Milan’s Europa League failure

Italian is a combustible character but can lead the Nerazzurri to greatness – if he can get out of his own way

Inter manager Antonio Conte (Getty Images)

Antonio Conte might still be one of the best coaches in the world, but there are few in the profession who care as little as he does for managing up.

The tensions between him and the Internazionale hierarchy appeared to be easing after a week of wide grins for the cameras on the Rhine, as the Nerazzurri’s first trophy of any kind in nine long years came into view.

That all changed at the RheinEnergieStadion on Friday night, and if Ever Banega mocking his hair transplant had already put Conte in a foul mood, the 3-2 defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League final only made matters worse.

“Now we have to get back to Milan, we will take two or three days off, then with cool heads we will meet,” he told Sky Sport Italia after the final whistle in Cologne.

“It’s only right that we analyse the entire season, look at everything in a very calm way, and try to plan the future of Inter, whether it’s with or without me.

“It has been difficult and we’ll figure things out,” he added, on the season generally.

“It has been wonderful for me to be the coach of Inter, I thank the owners who allowed me to go through this great experience. If I can say one thing: It was worth it and I will always thank those who gave me the opportunity to have this experience.”

The message was clear, so clear that Conte did not feel the need to elaborate on those answers much in his post-match press conference, instead referring print journalists back to the round of television interviews.

The noises out of Italy suggest Conte is now set for showdown talks regarding his future this coming week and the reasons behind his restlessness are complex and many.

Conte himself cited personal issues, drawing an ostensible reference to a death threat that was sent to Inter’s offices last November. “It was a very tough year,” he said. “There are limits to everything and if situations involve my private life, that is no longer acceptable.

“I have a family and I have to understand if football is the priority or my family. Because if some situations end up affecting my family, that is no longer enough for me. Everything has its limits, I have to see where my limits are.”

Antonio Conte and his Inter side came up short in the Europa League final (Getty Images)

Clearly, if the security and safety of his family remains a concern, that alone would be justification to step away from Giuseppe Meazza and look elsewhere.

There are other elements, though, which fit the familiar pattern of Conte’s combustible managerial career to date and – whether he stays at Inter or goes elsewhere – they are likely to rear their head again.

There is the usual tension with the board and his relationship with sporting director Piero Ausilio has been particularly strained. The president – Steven Zhang, of the Chinese majority owners Suning – could be in Milan and within reach more for the manager’s liking.

There have even been cracks appearing between Conte and Giuseppe Marotta, the chief executive, who together with Andrea Agnelli restored Juventus to supremacy at the start of the decade.

When Marotta appeared to share the credit for Inter’s progress over this past year around all departments of the club, Conte was not best pleased with others “jumping on the bandwagon”. The Inter manager then appeared to blame Marotta for the scheduling of their Serie A fixtures late in the season by claiming that the club were not “present” in those particular meetings.

Money is a sticking point, of course. Conte believes more could be done in the transfer market despite an estimated net spend of €120 million since his appointment. That figure does not include €40m spent on the incoming Achraf Hakimi, the €25m due to make Nicolo Barella’s loan from Cagliari permanent or the not inconsiderable wages of free transfer Alexis Sanchez.

Conte was booked for remonstrating with the referee as Inter were beaten by Sevilla (Getty Images)

Conte has had plenty of backing and financial support, enough for those above him to justifiably ask themselves whether they will ever be able to make him happy. In fact, if there is a fair criticism to be made against the Inter hierarchy, it is that they should have known what they were getting themselves into.

Even before his protracted exit from Chelsea, there was the time he walked away from Juventus at the start of pre-season and after three back-to-back Scudetti, claiming he had been left to pay a €100 bill with a €10 note.

It was Voltaire who wrote of “a wise Italian” who once said that “the best is the enemy of the good”.

Conte is not only wise but a serial winner, though his refusal to accept second-best can be a weakness just as much as it can be a strength.

If his undoubted managerial ability is ever to be matched by a sustained period of success, that serial winner may need to learn how to accept and respond to defeat.