“I had to get changed because my suit is now a disaster,” Antonio Conte explained, pointing out that not even Italian tailoring can survive being thrown bodily into the air then soaked in water, beer and champagne. It was close to midnight when the Chelsea head coach finally made it into the media suite at The Hawthorns after clinching the Premier League title at his first attempt and it was just as well he had swapped his suit for a club tracksuit, because his players had not finished with him.
Bored of waiting downstairs for the team bus to depart, Diego Costa and David Luiz broke into the press conference after a handful of questions and began manhandling their manager out of the stadium. This was not a little inconvenient for reporters who had been waiting to ask whether another quick change might be imminent, with an Internazionale blazer apparently ready for the fitting, though Conte was willing to talk about his future in a different room, albeit one where Costa found a fire extinguisher and threatened to set it off unless the boss got a move on. Conte got a move on.
“Yes, I will be here,” was his answer to the next-season question. “We have started to do our work. We have to improve in the next season – we need to find solutions. So far we have worked nine months together, but now the players know my idea and trust in my work, I think we can get better.”
Can Conte be sure he will be working with the same set of players next season, with Eden Hazard coveted in Spain, and Costa thought to be tempted by mega-money on offer elsewhere? “We share the same ambition at this club and for this reason we try to keep the best players,” he said. “But it is too early to talk of next season. We have the opportunity to win the Double and we must be ready to fight to do this.
“We will not be resting; we must work in the training sessions to prepare the next two games against Watford and Sunderland in the right way.”
There were groans from the Brazilian contingent at this, as might be imagined, though Conte is quite right. It would be a mistake to dismiss the remaining two home games as irrelevancies because, by winning them, Chelsea could set a Premier League record for victories in a season. Chelsea are on 28 with two games to go, and the record is 29, set in 2004-05 – then equalled in 2005-06 – in José Mourinho’s startlingly successful first couple of seasons in England.
Records in themselves mean little,; there is no extra money or kudos on offer, yet what a statement that would be for Conte to make after only working “nine months together”. Whatever Chelsea think of Mourinho now, he was a force without parallel when he first breezed into Stamford Bridge and for Conte to stand on the verge of matching or bettering his standards is amazing given how unpromising the situation looked at the start.
This is not to have another go at Hazard, Costa and the rest for opting out of parts of last season, but to recall the difficulties Conte faced in the first few games of this campaign. In September, the team now on course to add a win record to the title just secured drew away at Swansea, lost at home to Liverpool, then most calamitously of all went down 3-0 at Arsenal, a defeat that left Conte fuming. “I was unhappy. I could not see any results from my work,” he said. “The Arsenal result hurt, but there’s no doubt it was the turning point.”
Away at Hull in the next game, Conte tried out a new formation so successful that it led to a record-equalling run of 13 consecutive victories and, quite naturally after such resounding confirmation of a tactical rethink, Chelsea never felt the need to change or look back since. “I think the change after the Arsenal game was the key moment for us,” Conte said. “There were other important points in the season, such as the win at Manchester City, but every single player found in the new system the best way for them.”
No one could possibly argue, though often overlooked in the rush to the rather obvious conclusion that switching to 3-4-2-1 made the best possible use of the players at Conte’s disposal is that three of the most important components of the new system – N’Golo Kanté, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso – arrived at the start of the season. Not many other managers would have put César Azpilicueta in the back three and gone with Victor Moses as right wing-back, it is true, though it is a slight oversimplification to assume that Conte merely made the best of what he had. He clearly had a way of playing in mind, if not as yet a settled formation, when Chelsea were spending around £90m – the sum Manchester United spent on Paul Pogba and his agent – in the summer.
In addition to the title, in other words, Conte and Chelsea also win the unofficial prize for transfer-market nous, given that all three signings were relatively cheap and has had a big season. Chelsea will be looking to do the same again this summer, not just to stay ahead of their domestic rivals, but also to bulk up the squad for Champions League purposes.
Already they look like the only English side capable of making any real impression in Europe, at least until Manchester City sort out their defensive frailty, but Conte will not be satisfied with that and neither will the club owner. Nor, for that matter, will Frank Lampard. “This is Antonio’s team, they are his players and when they have something to celebrate you can see that,” the former Chelsea midfielder said.
“He has done a similar job to José in many ways; you can see the passion and winning mentality is back. Now they will have to add to their squad, which is going to be tough because the team they have already looks almost complete. There’s no point bringing in players who aren’t better than the ones they have got, so you have to be talking top-class, but you can’t win the Champions League without the type of player who can make a difference.
“When José came into the club, he took over a team of boys and turned us into winners. Antonio inherited a squad that was on a real downer and the job he has done is different class. All eyes were on Manchester at the start of the season but people have now woken up to what a great manager Chelsea have got.”
