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What's the story?
As per Sky Italy and Fabricio Romano, former Italy, Juventus and Chelsea boss Antonio Conte looks likely to become the new manager of Seria A giants Inter Milan. As per reports, the deep respect Inter general manager Beppe Marotta has for the multiple Seria A and Premier League title winning tactician has swung the decision in his favour.
In case you didn't know...
A legendary Champions League winning player and former captain of Juventus, Antonio Conte started his management career with Arezzo in 2006. He led Bari to the Seria B title in 2009-10 and led Siena to promotion from the same division two season later. He then took over as manager of Juventus in 2011 and embarked on a footballing revolution at Turn, implementing a 3-5-2 system that won three consecutive Seria A titles.
Conte then proceeded to take over as manager of the Italian National Team and won many admirers as he led an unfancied, relatively weak side to the quarterfinals. Chelsea came calling for him next and he stamped his class in his first ever Premier League season itself, lifting the EPL title. A dismal 2017-18 league season saw him being dismissed as manager, despite winning the FA Cup.
The heart of the matter
Antonio Conte has not worked in management since his ouster from Chelsea in June 2018 but AS Roma and Inter have expressed interest in signing up the ace manager. Inter is reportedly close to making him put pen on paper, with the ambitious project plan outlined by Inter's owners, Chinese Retail giants Suning Group being a key attraction for Conte. Conte had revealed in an earlier interview that there is a "60% chance" that he will return to coaching in the Seria A for the coming season.
Inter's current manager Luciano Spaletti is expected to get the boot after a disappointing campaign where they were eliminated in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League and are currently lying 3rd in Seria A.
What's next?
After a disappointing 0-0 draw at Udinese last weekend, Inter face Chievo next, at home in the Seria A with kickoff set for Tuesday, 12:30 AM IST.
