page_title: Antonio Conte
section_title: Style of management
hierarchical_section_title: Antonio Conte / Style of management
caption_attribution_description: FA Cup SF 22.4.17
context_page_description: Antonio Conte is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Serie A club Inter Milan.
  Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later became one of the most decorated and influential players in the history of Juventus. He captained the team and won the UEFA Champions League, as well as five Serie A titles, among other honours. He also played for the Italy national team and was a participant at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, where, on both occasions, Italy finished runners-up.
  His managerial career started in 2006, leading Bari to the 2008–09 Serie B title, and Siena to promotion from the same division two years later. He then took over at Juventus in 2011, where he implemented a 3–5–2 formation and won three consecutive Serie A titles, before taking charge of the Italian national team in 2014 until the UEFA Euro 2016 campaign. He became the manager of Chelsea in April 2016 and led them to the Premier League title in his first season in charge, later winning the FA Cup in his second season with the team. He was dismissed as Chelsea manager in July 2018.
context_section_description: As a manager, Conte is known for using the 3–5–2 formation (or in certain cases, its more defensive variant, 5–3–2), fielding two wingbacks in lieu of wingers, with two out-and-out strikers backed by an attacking box-to-box midfielder in a three-man midfield, in front of a three-man defensive line. During his time as head coach of Juventus, he won three consecutive Serie A titles using the 3–5–2 formation, which also soon began to be employed by several other Serie A clubs. In his time at Bari he was noted for his unorthodox 4–2–4 formation, a modification of the classic 4–4–2, in which the outside midfielders act as attacking wingers.
  Some commentators have also observed that, although Conte's teams are capable of playing a short passing possession game, in which the ball is played out from the back on the ground, they are mainly known for their direct style of attacking play, as well as their ability to utilise long balls and score from counter-attacks with few touches; however, Conte has rejected claims that his teams prefer to sit back and play on the counter-attack. Defensive solidity has been highlighted as a hallmark of his sides, as well as the effective use of high and aggressive pressing in order to put pressure on opponents and win back the ball quickly. Conte's teams have also been described as possessing notable virtues such as pace, athleticism, high work-rates, versatility and tactical intelligence.
  Conte's work in restoring Juventus to the top of Italian football won critical acclaim and earned him comparisons with José Mourinho, Marcello Lippi and Arrigo Sacchi, primarily due to his obsession with tactics, his winning mentality and ability to foster great team spirit among his players. He also demonstrated a notable tactical versatility and meticulousness as a coach, adopting several different formations in an attempt to find the most suitable system to match his players' skills. The formations he adopted included 4–2–4, 4–1–4–1, 3–3–4, and 4–3–3, before he finally settled on his now trademark 3–5–2 or 5–3–2 formation while also using a 3–5–1–1 formation on occasion, as a variation upon this system. The resulting system was key to the club's success as the three-man midfield line-up, flanked by wingbacks, allowed veteran star Andrea Pirlo to function creatively as a deep-lying playmaker, with the younger and more dynamic Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio either supporting him defensively or contributing offensively by making attacking runs into the area. Conte's use of heavy pressing high up on the pitch allowed his players to win back the ball quickly after losing it, and enabled Juventus to dominate possession during matches, which gave Pirlo more time to orchestrate the team's attacking moves.
  The organised back-line at Juventus formed by Chiellini, Bonucci, and Andrea Barzagli proved to be a strong defensive line-up, as Juventus finished the 2011–12 Serie A season with the best defence in the league; the three-man defence also allowed the central defender, Bonucci, to operate in a free role, and advance into midfield as a ball-playing centre-back, providing an additional creative outlet whenever Pirlo was heavily marked. Luca Marrone commented on Conte's demanding and meticulous approach as a coach, stating, "It takes time to accept the sheer amount of work he is asking of you. Everything he does, in preparation or tactical organisation, is done with maniacal precision and attention to detail. It can be overwhelming at first. But when you realise by buying into it you can win things, you follow."
  In 2014, Trapattoni attributed Conte's success and tactical intelligence as a manager to his time playing in midfield throughout his playing career, which allowed him to understand both the offensive and defensive phases of the game.
  Conte's teams are also known for their versatility and ability to adopt different formations during a match, depending on whether his team are in possession or playing off the ball. At Euro 2016, Italy adopted a fluid 3–5–2 formation under Conte, in which the wide midfielders o
caption: Conte with Diego Costa during the 2017 FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham
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