Three league titles in three years at Juventus, a quarter-final with an Italian national team that everybody had written off in the European Championships, and a title with a Chelsea team that finished tenth, the previous year; Antonio Conte’s record speaks for itself.
The ferocious Italian manager is a serial winner but more importantly, he is a manager who loves to excel and achieve beyond what is expected of his team. Ninety minutes on the touchline with the former Juventus man and it will be equivalent to the escalated heart rate experienced by spending a day out at Disneyland. With Conte on the touchline, there is rarely a dull moment.
The manager puts in a 110% every second and in return expects the same from everyone. He does not care for the social status or the relationship dynamic. Be it his player, a club supporter or a member of the board, he will give it his all if he has made a commitment and will not rest until he receives the same if not more in return.
Speaking in yesterday’s post-match interview, he said he was happy to see the spirit and the intensity of the performance rather than the result of the match. He has, on previous occasions as well, mentioned how he does not care for anything apart from discipline and effort from his players. A player can make an accidental mistake on the pitch umpteen times and Conte will protect him with his life but an error in his approach or the lack of his intensity and Conte will skin him alive back in the dressing room, a management technique Andrea Pirlo praises in his autobiography, Think, Therefore.
It was always going to be a volatile relation therefore when Chelsea signed David Luiz last year on deadline day. The fun-loving Brazilian is perhaps the best case of a “Jekyll and Hyde” player in world football. He is absolutely world-class when he wants to be, be it in attack or defence and the very next minute he can produce a moment of madness that would shame any professional for a lifetime.
Under Conte, it seemed that Luiz had finally curbed. Conte refused to let Luiz roam free and sacrificed the good and the bad of the monster inside and disciplined the Brazilian to play like every other player, using everyday techniques and doing the basics right. While Luiz did not produce any moment of genius, he also played his error-free season last year at the age of 29.
This year, it seemed that Conte’s message was fading and Luiz had started reliving his glory-hunting days from time to time. His lack of discipline against Roma cost Chelsea a humiliating defeat and Conte was in no mood to spare the Brazilian. Out he went, of not only the starting line-up but also the squad for the all-important clash against United and Conte has now refused to update when or if at all he plans to lift his punishment on the Brazilian.
He simply said that Luiz will have to improve or he would continue to be where he is, on the stands. Luiz probably has the next few weeks or maybe till December maximum to get his act together and try and force his way back in, otherwise the ruthless Don Conte will have no hesitation in cutting the player loose for good.
