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source: planet football |
Antonio
Conte was not the most heralded appointment during a summer which saw
Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho take charge in Manchester, but he’s certainly
standing out alone as by far the best right now.
Guardiola has under-achieved during his first season in the
Premier League, while Mourinho has failed to return Manchester United to the
top four, yet Conte has delivered the title with remarkable ease for a team
that finished 10th last season – in his first job outside of Italy.
Tottenham kept Chelsea waiting until the 36th game to seal top spot,
but the Blues have led the way since the 12th game of the season and, frankly,
never once looked like surrendering that lead.
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source: planet football |
They set a Premier League record along the way, winning 13 games
in a row, and if they beat Sunderland on Sunday they will become the first
team in the history of the English top division to win 30 matches in a
38-game season. Oh, and they still have an FA Cup final to come against
Arsenal.
Conte
was lucky in some ways to take over a team that had flopped so spectacularly
the previous season, but Chelsea were still only fourth favourites for the
title going into the opening weekend. What he has achieved has been truly
extraordinary.
And make no mistake about it, Conte has been the decisive
factor. Chelsea had four representatives in the PFA Team of the Year this
season, but their star man has undoubtedly been their manager. His switch to a
three-man defence six games in against Arsenal will be spoken about for
years to come as one of the great tactical
decisions in Premier League history.
Conte’s success may have come as something as a surprise to some
people in England, but to those that know him, it would have been a far bigger
shock had he not succeeded at Stamford Bridge.
This is, after all, the fourth club title he has won in
succession after leading Juventus to three in a row. Guardiola has said Conte
is “maybe the best” coach in the world, and we spoke to three people to have
worked with the 47-year-old that are in no doubt he definitely is.
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