September 24th, 2016 was the day Chelsea suffered a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal last season, but to many it is the day the foundations were laid for Antonio Conte to win his first Premier League title. Unconvincing performances, and back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and the Gunners, left the Blues behind, as Manchester City looked in the driving seat for success under Pep Guardiola.
Just how much of what happened in the ensuing eight months is down to that disastrous afternoon at the Emirates Stadium has probably been overstated, but it taught the watching world two things. One, Conte is a tactical master, someone who the British media had not fully recognised, with Guardiola and Jose Mourinho taking most of the acclaim upon landing new jobs in England; and two, hasty conclusions. That night, many assumed Chelsea were out of the title race, a matter of weeks into the campaign.
The reason that day, more than any other, is pinpointed is because that was the day Conte scrapped his initial system and implemented his trademark 3-4-3. From then, Chelsea went on to lose just thrice in the league, and once they reached the summit of the table, they only got stronger. But the magic touch of Conte went beyond that formation or how it allowed Chelsea to wholly commit to neither defending nor attacking in any one game. It was rather that none of the three central defenders were playing in their primary positions.
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Gary Cahill felt most at home in a back four, but he was deployed on the left side of the trio, linking up with Marcos Alonso at wing-back in front of him. Cesar Azpilicueta was a right-back often deployed on the left when Mourinho was in charge at Stamford Bridge, but he sat on the other side. The pair of Cahill and Azpilicueta sandwiched David Luiz, who perhaps benefited the most out of the switch because he was able to take more time on the ball as a sweeper, rather than playing erratically as so many expected him to.
Luiz was quite a surprising choice from Conte, who re-signed the Brazilian from Paris Saint-Germain two years after he left. English football and he never quite understood each other back then, but under Conte’s influence, Luiz has proven his doubters wrong in spectacular fashion.
Yet, the former Juventus and Italy boss never felt like the puzzle was complete, spending the previous months attempting to engineer a reunion with Juve’s Leonardo Bonucci and launching a bid for Kalidou Koulibaly of Napoli. Serie A was his primary focus, and it is no surprise that he has found the answer there already this summer.
Antonio Rüdiger’s rise at AS Roma has been quite understated, especially in comparison to the likes of Koulibaly and Bonucci. It is quite fitting that now world-renowned transfer guru Monchi has arrived as sporting director at the Stadio Olimpico this summer, leaving Sevilla, because the Giallorossi have a very similar model in place. Talented but under the radar players, be it because of a poor spell at a bigger club or playing for a smaller one, are brought in to form an impressive team before being sold on at a huge profit.
Mohamed Salah has left for Liverpool, Leonardo Paredes has joined Zenit St Petersburg and Kostas Manolas looked all set to join him but failed to turn up for his medical; when he does leave, the trio combined will bring more revenue to Roma than they were signed for. Rüdiger, who joined from Stuttgart for just £7 million last year, having spent time on loan beforehand, will cost Chelsea £34 million when his protracted transfer goes through.
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The sales of Marquinhos to PSG and Mehdi Benatia to Bayern Munich in the past show Roma are no strangers to producing quality defenders, as they have with Manolas too. Rüdiger is the perfect fit for Conte’s Chelsea, mainly because he is more mobile and versatile than Cahill despite preferring to play on the right of the defence. At 24, he is of the perfect age to become a leading figure, something that cannot be said for both Luiz and Cahill who are both 30 or over.
Physical presence, tactical knowledge and mobility are what makes the ideal defender for Conte. The reason he shunned John Terry was not some sort of power play, like Andre Villas-Boas or Rafa Benitez did in their short reigns, but rather because he couldn’t keep up with the demands of playing that role.
As a sweeper, Terry wasn’t technical enough like Luiz, but he couldn’t combine two roles, centre-back and full-back, as Conte asks. Rüdiger will; not only is he strong and imposing, but he matches that with great pace, making him an upgrade on every other option Conte has. Although Kurt Zouma has similar traits, he doesn’t match the German for experience.
There is a rather sad undertone as to why Rüdiger wants to leave Roma and particularly Italy. Racial abuse is still an issue and it is reportedly having a real impact on him personally, but professionally he has developed into a player ready for the very top level, which is exactly where Conte is taking Chelsea on the evidence of last season.
Chelsea have a squad with an abundance of talent, they just need the right message. It would be easy for Antonio Conte to rest on his laurels, but that is not his style. There is a lot to come from the Italian and signing his namesake, Antonio, is just the start of phase two.
