Conte joins a long list of Chelsea managers to be shown the door.
Chelsea has cut ties with coach Antonio Conte. The separation comes after endless speculation about when Conte was going to be fired.
Courtesy: Live Sports News
One incident that contributed to his demise was when Conte reportedly sent a text to Chelsea’s top striker, Diego Costa. The player said the manager told him: “You’re not in my plans for the upcoming season.” That led to sanctioning Costa to Atletico Madrid in the window transfer.
But there was more to Conte’s ouster, including his criticism of the club’s transfer policy, elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Barcelona, and a 5th-spot Champions League finish.
Although Conte had a generally poor second season at Chelsea, he did get the silverware by bringing home the FA trophy. He won despite a souring relationship with management and a strict budget. Of the trophy, Conte said: “I have shown that I am a serial winner in a difficult season.”
Conte leaves as the manager with the best two-year win record since the time of Abramovich’s reign at Chelsea. Conte won the Premier League in his first year, reached the Cup final in the same year, and won the FA Cup in his second season. He surely will go down along in the history books of Chelsea.
But Conte was unpopular with players. That status was memorialized by Willian’s FA triumphant photo that had Conte’s photo covered with emojis, and by Cesc Fabregas, who liked this tweet: ‘Chelsea sack Antonio Conte.’ (Fabregas later apologized.)
The larger reality is that manager-sacking is a Chelsea tradition.
The club has had 10 managers in 14 years. Even good ones get shown the door, ala Jose Mourinho, who was fired after winning the league the season before.
Now the baton passes to former Napoli coach, Maurizio Sarri. The big question is: How long will Sarri last?
