Defending Premier League champions have announced the signing of current Italian manager Antonio Conte as their new manager. The Italian will take charge in the summer of 2016, post the European Championships.
Conte has signed a three-year contract with Chelsea and will be the manager till summer 2019, at least. He took over as manager of Italy in the summer of 2014, after three successful years as manager of Italian giants Juventus. His appointment means that Guus Hiddink, who is in his second spell as interim manager of Chelsea, will leave his duties at the end of the season.
Following the announcement of his signing, he said, “I am very excited about the prospect of working at Chelsea Football Club. I am proud to be the coach of the national team of my country and only a role as attractive as manager of Chelsea could follow that. I am looking forward to meeting everyone at the club and the day-to-day challenge of competing in the Premier League.”
The 46-year-old added, “I am happy we have made the announcement now so everything is clear and we can end the speculation. I will continue to focus on my job with the Italian national team and will reserve speaking about Chelsea again until after the Euros.”
Chelsea’s director, Marina Granovskaia, said, “We are very pleased to have recruited one of the most highly regarded managers in world football and we are equally pleased to do so before the end of the current season. This aids our future planning. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Guus Hiddink, who has done a great job since he joined us in December.”
Conte comes with great pedigree
Antonio Conte has had a solid managerial career so far, having taken charge of Arezzo and Bari in the lower divisions, before taking charge of Siena in the Siena. He was then appointed the manager of Juventus in the summer of 2011. He was in-charge of the Bianconeri for three years, winning three Serie A titles on the trot, and also got named Serie A Coach of the Year in all three seasons.
He will be the fifth Italian to take over as manager at Chelsea, after Gianluca Vialli, Claudio Ranieri, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto di Matteo. He led Juventus to an incredible achievement of an unbeaten season in 2011/12 and a Serie A record haul of points of 102 in 2013/14.
As coach of Italy, he led them to an unbeaten record in the 2016 European Championship qualifiers, as they made the main draw for the tournament in France comfortably. Conte was also a great player for Juventus, making more than 400 appearances for the Italian giants.
