Remembering Antonio Conte's time at Chelsea

There are managers who are known for the short-term impact they can have at a club and Italian coach Antonio Conte might be one of the best examples of that in recent years. A Juventus legend as a footballer, he quickly made a name for himself when he coached the Italian giants back to winning ways in the 2010s, but there is an argument to be made that his time at Chelsea was what made him such a notorious figure within football.

While the Blues had recently won the Premier League with Jose Mourinho, they had to endure a massive decline during the following season, which is something that very few champions in England in recent decades had to endure. However, with just a few signings and successful tactical decisions, Conte managed to take the club back to winning days in his first year, although his time in Chelsea would also be defined because of a lot of friction and issues with players.

The context of Antonio Conte

Conte was a legend of Italian football as a player, having become Juventus' captain during the team's golden era in the 90s and early 2000s and known for his combative style as a midfielder. He would begin his coaching career in 2006 and would mostly spend the next five years in smaller teams until receiving the call from his old club in the summer of 2011.

This is when the former midfielder would become a household name in the world of coaching, winning three Serie A titles in his three years at Juventus and also establishing the back-three formation that he would always end up associated with. However, he would end up leaving in the summer of 2014 because of differences with the board and would have a rather underrated two-year stint with the Italy national team before arriving in London.

N'Golo Kante was the most important signing during Conte's time at Chelsea

Some decisions in the transfer window

Chelsea ended outside of European competitions in the 2015/16 season after being Premier League champions with Jose Mourinho the year prior, which is something that hampered the club's aspirations and mood by the time Conte arrived. He was announced long before that season ended and the general mood of the fans was waiting for the season to end to see what he could do.

The team stayed mostly the same when compared to the previous seasons, but it is worth pointing out that the decisions in the transfer window were key. The most celebrated signing of the summer was French midfielder N'Golo Kante, who recently was a lynchpin for Leicester City's historical 2015/16 Premier League title, so the Blues getting that player proved to be a decisive factor in the long run.

However, the same cannot be said of other signings who were criticized when they happened. A great example of that was Brazilian center-back David Luiz coming back to Stamford Bridge after a few years with Paris Saint-Germain, whose defensive shortcomings had become a running criticism throughout his career.

There was also the signing of then-Fiorentina left-back Marcos Alonso and the return of Nigerian winger Victor Moses, who had been loaned to multiple clubs at the time. All of this didn't bode well with Chelsea fans and a couple of bad results at the beginning of the 2016/17 season seemed to suggest that Conte was going to struggle, but then he made some key decisions.

Conte's key decisions at Chelsea

After a few bad results in his first season, Conte chose to abandon the back-four he was using and return to the three at the back formation that was so successful for him in both Juventus and Italy. This formation gave him more defensive stability while having Nemanja Matic and the aforementioned Kante in the double pivot, with the Serbian offering better passing and the Frenchman covering more ground.

Wing-backs are usually fundamental when playing with a back-three and there is an argument to be made that the decision of playing Alonso and Moses on these positions proved to be Conte's finest throughout his tenure. The Spaniard had more license to roam and be an attacking threat while Moses' experience as a right-winger while being right-footed was key, with right center-back Cesar Azpilicueta helping him cover defensive ground because the latter had experience as a full-back.

Pedro Rodriguez, Eden Hazard, and Diego Costa were the dominating attacking trio and were key to the team's success during that season. Costa had his own issues with Conte and both agreed for the former to leave at the end of the campaign, but they still managed to make it work to win the Premier League that year.

The aftermath

The second season failed to have the same momentum, with Chelsea struggling in the UEFA Champions League and ultimately getting a fifth finish in the English Premier League. While the club did win the FA Cup at the end of the season against Manchester United, the side was a shadow of the intense, robust team that won the league with the Italian the year before and never had the same impact.

Disagreements with the board, failed signings such as Alvaro Morata and Tiémoué Bakayoko struggling to replace Costa and Matic, respectively, and, overall, his formula not working as well as he did in the previous season had Conte sacked at the end of the campaign. He would be replaced by his compatriot, Maurizio Sarri.

While a rather short stint, Conte's time at Chelsea was mostly fondly remembered until he chose to join Tottenham in 2021, thus betraying the Blues with a London rival. However, his stint in Stamford Bridge also serves as a reminder of what this coach is capable of and how he managed to revitalize an underwhelming team.