Antonio Conte Hails His Past Managers

Conte has said that he has to make some difficult decisions when his players make mistakes, also telling the club website that he is glad he didn’t begin his managerial career by taking on a top job too soon.

“As a player, I was very lucky to have so many good managers in my career,” he said. “I remember the first two at Lecce: Eugenio Fascetti and Carlo Mazzone. They were very important for me and my growth.

“They used the carrot and the stick with me. I brought this type of management with me to use with my players. Sometimes you must use the stick, and sometimes you must use the carrot.

“I prefer to use the carrots! But sometimes it’s a necessity to be strong. When someone makes a mistake, it’s right to underline this type of situation, and find the best solution to avoid the same mistake in the future.”

“Often a player who had a great career thinks they can become a manager quickly,” he said. “But it is one thing to play, and one thing to be a coach. They’re totally different. You must try to have the right experience before you can reach a fantastic target.

“For this reason, I preferred to start lower down, and also to have disappointments. When I started, in my first experience as a manager at Arezzo in Serie B, the club sacked me after nine games. Then, they recalled me for the last part of the season. It was very important for me, this experience.

“Whether you work with the best players in the world or lower down, it’s always difficult to transfer your footballing philosophy.

“You have to work a lot on tactics, on analysis videos, on technical aspects, and then you have to work a lot on the mentality of your players. It’s about trying to transfer your ideas and your mentality. For a coach, the work is very tough, but at the same time you get great satisfaction when you see your team play in the way you like.”