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Italy vs England preview: Graft over craft for Antonio Conte

A dearth of stars has persuaded new manager to give Italy  a ‘blue collar’ look with a player’s work ethic now his prime virtue, writes Miguel Delaney

Miguel Delaney
Saturday 28 March 2015 20:05 GMT
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Italy manager Antonio Conte
Italy manager Antonio Conte

At almost every Italian press conference Antonio Conte has given, there’s been one persistent question, and it hasn’t been about performance or the occasional controversial selection. The big issue has been whether the successful former Juventus coach is already jaded by the job of being the national manager, and whether he regrets taking it after only eight months.

That is the general feeling around the Italian media, even if Conte has been at pains to deny it, and his team are still expected to qualify easily for Euro 2016.

In response to the latest questioning, the 45-year-old let something slip to display his commitment. Conte revealed that he had been sounded out by a Premier League club last season, and the general acceptance is that it was Manchester United. So, instead of managing in England this season, Conte will take on England with his own national team on Tuesday, just 10 months after the two countries met in Manaus.

It feels a very different Italian set-up from the team that won 2-1 in that World Cup encounter, and not just because of the managerial change. That victory created much enthusiasm about the chances of Cesare Prandelli’s side in Brazil, in particular how successful their possession game was. Then, they quickly lost control: Costa Rica defeated them, before Prandelli surprisingly reverted to a tired approach against Uruguay. The manager who said he would always look for a win, played for a draw, and got beaten. It is one reason why there were low expectations when Conte took over.

He has, though, reportedly received death threats from Juventus fans after the midfielder Claudio Marchisio ruptured knee ligaments while prpearing for last night’s Euro2016 qualifier in Bulgaria.

The quality of the squad is a far cry from a decade ago. The sole young player who excites is Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Verratti, and he is starting only because of injury to Andrea Pirlo. Otherwise, the six strikers (one of whom is Southampton’s Graziano Pellè) only have three international goals between them.

That is partially intentional from Conte, but is also indicative of how much the stock of the national side has fallen. It speaks volumes, too, that the manager has had to pick naturalised forwards such as Brazilian Eder and Argentine Franco Vazquez – selections that have provoked fierce debate in Italy.

As in England, there are questions about the national team’s identity, both in terms of the playing style and the quality of the players. Serie A is similar to the Premier League in terms of foreign players, with more than half its starters from abroad.

The star of this Italy squad is Conte himself. It remains a surprise that such a highly prized young manager chose the national team, when he could have picked an elite club job.

As a player, Conte used to “go into a cold sweat” about whether he would be called up for Italy. He feels the majority of big names don’t care enoughabout playing for Italy; a reason, no doubt, why Mario Balotelli has barely featured since he took over. The manager has repeatedly stated that he will pick “the man first, the talent second”.

Conte explained: “The national team is a reward you have to earn and suffer for. It’s something that should make you anxious and hurting if you aren’t selectedor you diminish the value of the call-up.”

That also explains what has been described as the “blue-collar” complexion of his squads. Many players, such as striker Ciro Immobile and midfielder Mirko Valdifiori, have grafted through hard careers and fully appreciate the meaning of the shirt. It also means Conte can demand hard graft. In contrast to the smooth possession of Prandelli, the former Juve boss is all about pressing. He is proud of how his 3-5-2, with the likes of Marchisio running from midfield, “becomes a 3-3-4” and overwhelms opposition.

Conte has resorted to Juventus stalwarts Chiellini, Andrea and Buffon

However, he has had problems implementing it. Conte is a hands-on training-ground coach, like Pep Guardiola, but that becomes an issue with the short time an international manager has at his disposal. One of his ideas was to break down the barriers between club and country, but he has met with only resistance.

That, reportedly, has caused his jadedness, the realisation that his influence is limited. He is optimistic the high number of Juventus players can implement his style by memory, and he has his old Turin defensive core of Gigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli. That is the one thing that has remained persistent: the cast-iron Italian defence.

It will make things awkward for England, but Conte has certainly found things a little more awkward than he anticipated.

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