After a disastrous 2015-16 season that saw Chelsea finish 10th in the league table, a certain Italian manager was brought into the frame. Antonio Conte’s arrival to Chelsea last season was a comparatively low-key affair in England. It was not because the Italian tactician is not popular in the world of football but the story of Conte was eclipsed by the drama unfolding at Manchester. The Manchester war had intensified ten folds after the two clubs appointed long-term rivals Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho as their managers.
Fans worldwide were running out of patience as they eagerly awaited a managerial world war in England with the likes of Pep, Jose, Conte, Klopp, Wenger and Pochettino going head to head. The Manchester clubs were heavily tipped to win the league because of their managers and the arrival of superstar players in the summer.
However, as he had done on four previous occasions, Antonio Conte quietly set to work and took the Chelsea team that had finished tenth the season before to the title. A season later, Chelsea are struggling to repeat their heroics and there has been immediate talk of dissatisfaction and loss of harmony at the club with Conte tipped to get the sack.
Reasons ranging from players turning against the manager and his training methods, Conte missing his home, Chelsea board unhappy with Conte’s over-exerting nature have gone through the rumour mill.
Conte’s struggle means that several managers have been linked to the hot seat at SW6. With rumours linking him to a move away from London getting stronger, the name of Luis Enrique has come up to replace the Italian at West London.
The ex-Barcelona boss has been out of a job since leaving his post at Barcelona at the end of last season. Enrique had an extremely successful spell with the Catalans where he won every single trophy at the club level, both domestic and European.
Moreover, he was credited with being able to harness the incredibly difficult power of the famed ”MSN” and use it for the benefit of Barcelona. He managed to set aside the ego and superstar problems of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez and make them an unstoppable force in Europe.
He had a disappointing season last time out, however, as he lost both the league and the Champions League to arch-rivals Real Madrid. Should Enrique come to England, he can be another feather added to the list of famous managers at Chelsea but the West London side should think twice about replacing their current Italian boss as he is still the best man to lead the Blues into a recovery campaign as was demonstrated back in 2016-17.
