How Antonio Conte Led Inter Milan Back to Glory
Antonio Conte has built a reputation as one of the biggest serial winners in the last decade as far as football managers go and his career proves that to be the case. His time with Juventus in the early 2010s helped the club go back to the top and even break some Serie A records, with his stint in England with Chelsea also proving his mettle by winning the English Premier League.
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This is Antonio Conte's two-year stint at Inter Milan from 2019 to 2021 and the different ups and downs he went through.
The context of club and manager
Italian manager Luciano Spalletti had done a somewhat solid job with Inter Milan during the 2018/19 season by having them qualify for the UEFA Champions League as they finished in fourth place. It wasn't the greatest of seasons for the Italian giants, and the last decade had been one of decline after the 2010 treble with manager Jose Mourinho, which is something that was bound to change now.On the other hand, Antonio Conte arrived with a degree of trepidation from the fans because of his past with Juventus, which makes a lot of sense. Conte was not only a former Juventus manager but also a former team captain as a player and a symbol of that institution, making this union very controversial to a lot of people.
Be that as it may, Conte had a lot of success with Juventus, winning three Serie A titles during his three years at the helm, and won the English Premier League with Chelsea and an FA Cup in two years, which was a great return of investments for him. Therefore, there was no doubt that, from a pragmatic perspective, he was a manager capable of winning with this side.
Lautaro Martínez was an important player in Conte's Inter
The squad-building
One of the biggest elements of Antonio Conte's success with Inter Milan was due to his squad-building and decisions in the market. Letting Mauro Icardi go, the team's goal scorer and club captain, was definitely a tough call to make but proved to be the catalyst, especially considering the Argentinian's track record of controversies.The Italian manager chose to give another Argentinian striker who was already in the squad, Lautaro Martinez, a lot more prominence as a second striker in his 3-5-2 formation. Conte also went to Manchester United and signed exiled striker Romelu Lukaku, who he already wanted for his Chelsea side in 2017, and Alexis Sanchez, thus having a lot more offensive options.
Talented Italian midfielder Nicolò Barella was signed from Cagliari on a loan with an obligation to buy, with him becoming a lynchpin for the side. Moreover, the January transfer window of 2020 also had the signings of Ashley Young from Manchester United and Christian Eriksen from Tottenham Hotspurs, with Victor Moses coming on loan from Chelsea, who already played under Conte in Stamford Bridge.
The 2021 summer would also have more important signings in terms of having more variety in the squad, such as signing Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal from FC Barcelona, who was already coached by Conte in Juventus. Achraf Hakimi arrived from Borussia Dortmund and played as a right wing-back. Matteo Darmian, then at Parma and another former Manchester United footballer, was added as an alternative for the wing-back and center-back positions.
These signings, coupled with others of a lesser profile, proved to be a major catalyst for the team's success, to the point that Inter Milan finished second and first during Conte's two seasons at the institution.
The ups and downs
If there is a constant throughout Antonio Conte's career since his Juventus days is that he stands out for being excellent in the league and struggling in cup competitions, which was exactly what happened during his tenure in Inter Milan. As mentioned earlier, the team finished second in the 2019/20 season, barely losing the league to Juventus, and won the Scudetto for the first time in eleven years during the 2020/21 season, becoming a major accomplishment for the institution and the manager.The manager relied on the physical strength and athletic qualities of his side, with Martinez and Lukaku performing as an amazing partnership. There were also a lot of quality performances from his wingbacks, with Hakimi playing a great role in his sole season in Italy to reach the Scudetto.
When it comes to Europe, that is when things took a turn for the worse, with the team never moving past the UEFA Champions League group stages. Inter Milan did reach the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League final but lost against Sevilla because of an awful Romelu Lukaku performance.
Conclusion
Antonio Conte proved time and time again in his career that he can provide results for a lot of different sides, with his stint at Inter Milan perhaps being one of the most positive in his time as a manager. That is something that highlights his virtues and flaws as a manager since his team was excellent in Serie A, but they struggled to make an impact in European competitions.However, it is very likely that most Inter Milan fans would be happy with his contributions since this era represented the club's return to the top after almost a decade.