Antonio Conte is ready for a new job, that much is clear.
He’s been out of work since leaving Tottenham, and he’s now ramping up his PR campaign with some big interviews. The latest was an exclusive in the Daily Telegraph which featured lots of nice reminiscing about his time at Chelsea.
In particular, the subject of Eden Hazard came up.
“I think Hazard was one of the best players I ever had in my career as a coach. When there is a lot of talent, you have to push a bit more than other players who have less talent. It’s important to give a direction. This direction is not simple if you want to win. If you want to enjoy, it’s totally different. But I enjoy to win.
“You know, as a coach, I like to give a road that we have to follow. Especially at the start, it’s not simple, it’s not easy for everybody – especially for players and people who are not used to stay focused, to stay strong, to play must-win games. It’s not simple. But once they arrive to follow this path, they start to get the benefits and then they take this situation.”
Conte and Hazard was always the most fascinating combination, as they couldn’t have been more different. Conte is all hard training, screaming matches and intense tactical drills. Hazard just wanted to go out and play. Training wasn’t really in his vocabulary.
Yet each of them realised what the other could offer them, and in the end having Hazard as the free outlet in an otherwise structured team worked perfectly all around and led Chelsea to a Premier League title – and it could have been more, with a little luck.
