Antonio Conte to leave Juventus with Italy job vacant
Juventus have announced that their coach, Antonio Conte, has had his contract terminated by mutual consent.
Conte, who had won three consecutive Serie A titles with Juve since joining from Siena in 2011, was widely reported to have told the club at the end of the season that he wanted to make sweeping changes with a view to mounting a serious challenge in the Champions League. Under Conte, the furthest Juve have progressed in the Champions League has been to the quarter-finals in 2013.
It is not immediately clear why Conte has been allowed to leave – he said only that “right now I’m thinking about the present” – but there are suggestions that he will succeed Cesare Prandelli, now manager of Galatasaray, in charge of the Italian national side.
The 44-year-old Conte announced his decision to leave in a video interview on the club’s official website – just a day after the start of pre-season. Juventus also confirmed Conte’s decision to step down – citing mutual consent – with the chairman, Andrea Agnelli, saying he was saddened by the news and hailing Conte as “a great leader”.
Conte, who had signed a new deal through to the summer of 2015 earlier this year, said time had caught up with him at the Turin club and that the moment was right to bid them farewell. “It may be more difficult to keep winning with Juventus,” he said.
His departure will increase speculation about the future of Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal at Juventus. The former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini and ex-Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri are already being linked with the newly-vacant position at Juventus.
A former Italy international, Conte made more than 500 appearances for Juventus and won five league titles as a player with the club. His successful connection with Juve continued as coach, as he won Serie A at the first attempt and his side went unbeaten throughout the league season.
A second title followed, but he became him embroiled in a corruption row after he was charged with failing to report attempted match-fixing during his time with Siena. Conte pleaded his innocence but was subsequently banned for 10 months – a sentence reduced to a four-month touchline suspension in August 2013.
He returned to the dugout midway through last season and led Juve to another title, the 32nd in their history.
Conte, who had won three consecutive Serie A titles with Juve since joining from Siena in 2011, was widely reported to have told the club at the end of the season that he wanted to make sweeping changes with a view to mounting a serious challenge in the Champions League. Under Conte, the furthest Juve have progressed in the Champions League has been to the quarter-finals in 2013.
It is not immediately clear why Conte has been allowed to leave – he said only that “right now I’m thinking about the present” – but there are suggestions that he will succeed Cesare Prandelli, now manager of Galatasaray, in charge of the Italian national side.
The 44-year-old Conte announced his decision to leave in a video interview on the club’s official website – just a day after the start of pre-season. Juventus also confirmed Conte’s decision to step down – citing mutual consent – with the chairman, Andrea Agnelli, saying he was saddened by the news and hailing Conte as “a great leader”.
Conte, who had signed a new deal through to the summer of 2015 earlier this year, said time had caught up with him at the Turin club and that the moment was right to bid them farewell. “It may be more difficult to keep winning with Juventus,” he said.
His departure will increase speculation about the future of Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal at Juventus. The former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini and ex-Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri are already being linked with the newly-vacant position at Juventus.
A former Italy international, Conte made more than 500 appearances for Juventus and won five league titles as a player with the club. His successful connection with Juve continued as coach, as he won Serie A at the first attempt and his side went unbeaten throughout the league season.
A second title followed, but he became him embroiled in a corruption row after he was charged with failing to report attempted match-fixing during his time with Siena. Conte pleaded his innocence but was subsequently banned for 10 months – a sentence reduced to a four-month touchline suspension in August 2013.
He returned to the dugout midway through last season and led Juve to another title, the 32nd in their history.
Comments
Post a Comment