5 Possible Replacements For Antonio Conte At Chelsea

Watford v Chelsea - Premier League
Is time running out for Antonio Conte?

Yesterday's 4-1 humbling by Watford may prove to be the final game Antonio Conte will have as Chelsea manager. Working under an owner - Roman Abramovich - not known for his patience, Conte has seemed like a man expecting the worst for a couple of months now. It has to be said that his team haven't endured a terrible season: Chelsea find themselves in 4th place, only 6 points off Manchester United in 2nd position.

Compared to the difficulties Jose Mourinho suffered in his 2nd season after winning the league in 2015, when he departed the club in 16th place, just above the relegation zone, then one can be justified in being bewildered by the debate around Conte's position.

Chelsea haven't been anywhere near as good as they were last season but that was always going to be hard to replicate, given they faced a threat from the 2 resurgent Manchester clubs. Conte, too, hasn't become a bad manager overnight, and a lot of the blame lies with his players who simply haven't performed well enough.

However, most in the media and Conte himself seem to think that his time is up; the Italian looked like a broken man after the defeat last night.

Abramovich likes to act swiftly and he most likely would already have been considering possible targets to replace his head coach. This article looks at 5 of the best options to take over from Conte, should he be fired this season.


#5 Didier Deschamps

Sweden v France - FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier
Deschamps may relish another crack at club football

The French national team coach has been in charge of them for over 5 years now and seems settled in national management. He took the French national team to the final of Euro 2016 on home soil, only to lose agonizingly by a solitary goal against Portugal.

What must excite Deschamps is that he has the most talented generation of French young players at his disposal in a long time (Kylian Mbappe, Kingsley Coman, Paul Pogba, and Ousmane Dembele to name just some).

He does, however, have a history with Chelsea, having enjoyed 1 season at Stamford Bridge towards the end of his playing career, exiting as an FA Cup winner in 2000. Managing a club and national side together has been done before and should Chelsea need someone to steer them safely into next season, Deschamps may relish the challenge of a return to club management while he waits for the World Cup to arrive this summer.

He enjoyed a distinguished club management career in France, too, winning Ligue 1 with Marseille in 2010 and taking Monaco to an unlikely Champions League final in 2004 before that.

Chelsea also has 3 main French players in their squad in N'Golo Kante, Tiemoue Bakayoko, and Olivier Giroud, who would do well to be under the guidance of their national team coach for the rest of the campaign.

Abramovich has found success by appointing experienced coaches like Guus Hiddink to see Chelsea through to the end of a season before, and there's no doubt that Deschamps could perform a similar role. It would be an unlikely but perfect match.

#4 Diego Simeone

Atletico Madrid v Valencia - La Liga
Simeone has the character and confidence to cope with the Chelsea job

An appointment that would likely have to wait until the summer, Simeone has taken Atletico Madrid perhaps as far as possible. He has to be commended for the incredible job he's done there: a league title wrestled from the grip of Barcelona and Real Madrid, and two narrow Champions League final defeats to the latter were a tremendous record for a team punching above their weight.

Simeone managed this by building a tactically-outstanding outfit as Atletico were incredibly difficult to break down defensively and devastating on the counter-attack.

The Argentine, then, would represent a similar type of coach to Conte, continuing their focus on tactics and formation. Simeone has been touted as an EPL manager for a few seasons now, with Arsenal cited as the likeliest destination but perhaps Chelsea's players suit him better:

Arsenal's flair players would be harder to hold than Chelsea's battlers like N'Golo Kante into a system Simeone would be happy with. The league title is out of Atletico's reach this season and much of the side that Simeone took to those great heights are tiring and ageing now, so the time might be right for the manager to try his talents in English football.

#3 Brendan Rodgers

Celtic v Rangers - Scottish Premier League
Rodgers has proven his ability in Scottish football

Another manager who is familiar with the club, Rodgers spent 4 years at Chelsea in their youth system from 2004, acting as reserve team manager for a large part of this. During this time, he worked closely with Jose Mourinho, which gave him a sound footballing education. He left the club in 2008 to become a manager in his own right and he has had reasonable success.

Rodgers famously took Liverpool so close to winning their first league title in over 20 years in 2014, only for a late collapse to scupper their chances. Last season he led Celtic in Scotland to an incredible unbeaten season and also drew home and away against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in last season's Champions League.

His achievements in Scotland certainly haven't gone unnoticed and Rodgers will definitely find work in the EPL when his time at Celtic is over but he could be tempted to return to England sooner than expected if Chelsea come calling.

His appointment would be an atypical one for Abramovich who likes to trust in those with more top-level winning experience (Mourinho joined in 2004 a Champions League winner, Conte came after winning 3 Serie A titles with Juventus).

But it could be the change that Chelsea are in need of; trusted to build an attacking team by his philosophy, Rodgers could completely transform the Chelsea way and give the fans something new and exciting to follow.

#2 Massimiliano Allegri

Juventus v US Sassuolo - Serie A
The time may be right for Allegri to seek a new management challenge

It would be interesting to watch Allegri go the exact same path Conte took before him. Replacing him at Juventus, Allegri has taken the club to further heights as he led them to 2 Champions League finals in 2015 and 2017.

During the three league title wins in a row, the Italian has dealt excellently with having to change his first team, due to star players like Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, and Paul Pogba departing; each time he's found a worthy replacement, each time Juventus have carried on positively.

Allegri has certainly conquered Italian football, a winner of 4 league titles in total between his current club and AC Milan, so English football might prove appealing. It would allow him to compete against the best coaches in the world in Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho, and Mauricio Pochettino, and truly test his ability.

Allegri is renowned for his tactical flexibility, meaning he could cope with the unpredictability of the EPL. He also knows Morata from his time at Juventus and, given the Spanish striker's relative struggles this campaign, the Italian could hold the key to getting the best out of the player, something Chelsea desperately need.

#1 Carlo Ancelotti

The Best FIFA Football Awards - Green Carpet Arrivals
Carlo Ancelotti remains an extremely popular figure at the club

The coaching legend has of course managed Chelsea before and won the league and FA cup double in 2009/2010. The following season the team only narrowly lost out to Manchester United in the league but Ancelotti was surprisingly sacked, again a sign of Abramovich's volatility.

Since then, he's enjoyed great success at European powerhouses like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich; perhaps no manager in world football right now comes with a better pedigree than Ancelotti.

He's been out of a job since departing Bayern last September but has noted his desire to continue in management. The Italian could undertake a similar role that Hiddink has done for Chelsea before, and taking over until the summer might suit both parties well.

Chelsea would be controlled by a master manager with incredible Champions League experience and Ancelotti gains another chance at trophy success at a big club without committing to a long-term contract with the notorious Abramovich again.

He would allow players like Eden Hazard to play freely and express themselves, just like he did with Kaka at AC Milan and Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid and could represent the safest option to replace Conte for the foreseeable future.

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Edited by Ashwin Hanagudu