It was a year ago today that FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio named Antonio Conte the new coach of Italy’s national team.
Tavecchio was full of praise for Conte whom he referred to amicably as the condottiero, the Italian version of commander. Conte coached in a style similar to his playing days, combative.
Tavecchio was not concerned about Conte’s alleged involvement in match fixing, it was important for Italy to have great coach.
Conte certainly filled the requirements. He is passionate, gets his players to work hard and led Juventus to three straight championships. It did not bother Tavecchio how peculiar circumstances led Conte to leave Juventus – he was just 35 days out of work. Perhaps it was not sufficient time to really get a break and decompress, but who cares when the guy you want for the job is available?
It was expected that change was coming for the Azzurri roster, some veterans would leave and be replaced with some young blood. However Conte had none of it, leaving the likes of Gigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo on the team and making them starters.
Conte started his Azzurri adventure strong, with two impressive 2-0 wins over Holland (friendly match) and Norway (Euro qualifier), respectively. He seemed to have the magic touch to reinvigorate a dysfunctional Italian squad still recovering from a disastrous World Cup appearance in Brazil.
Then in October, another two victories followed but against minnows Azerbaijan (2-1) and Malta (1-0).
In November, Italy tied Croatia 1-1 and beat Albania 1-0. At this point many were questioning Conte’s style of play and were concerned with the Azzurri’s lack of offence. With the new Euro format comprised of 24 teams, it will be virtually impossible for Italy not to qualify as the top two in the standings advance.
Certainly injuries did not help the situation, as Conte was faced with the task of constantly rotating players – consistency and chemistry be damned.
Fast forward to 2015 and Conte is still looking for his first victory. The Azzurri tied three straight games against Bulgaria (2-2), England (friendly 1-1) and Croatia (1-1). Then Conte was handed his first loss in June as Portugal beat Italy 1-0 in a friendly.
Italy has four qualifiers left and they currently are in second place in Group H with 12 points, two points behind leaders Croatia.
Conte has a reputation for being one-dimensional, nobody cares when you win, but when you are not performing well this can be criticized. After a strong start the Azzurri are winless in 2015.
It will be interesting to see what Conte plans to do with the remaining matches. Did a summer of rest and reflection enlighten Conte to make some changes, or will the combative condottiero stick with his original plan?
Only time will tell. One thing is certain, there is much room for improvement and Conte’s Azzurri are still a work in progress.
The post One year later: Conte’s Azzurri still a work in progress appeared first on Italian Football Daily.
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