Spurs appoint Antonio Conte as head coach
By Paul Lagan
Spurs have taken less than 24 hours since their sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo to appoint their new head coach - Antonio Conte. Conte needs no introduction to football fans in England having overseen Chelsea's Premier League title.
Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola said ahead of his press conference this afternoon: "First of all welcome back to the England and the Premier League, his career speaks for himself," said Guardiola.
"He’s had success everywhere, an outstanding manager." Spurs said in a statement: "We are delighted to announce the appointment of Antonio Conte as our head coach on a contract until the summer of 2023, with an option to extend. Antonio has won titles in Serie A, including a hat-trick of Scudettos with Juventus, the Premier League and also managed Italy, leading the Azzurri to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. Born in Lecce, Antonio began his playing career at his home-town team (1985-1991) before achieving legendary status at Juventus (1991-2004).
As a midfielder, he won five Scudettos with La Vecchia Signora, the UEFA Cup in 1993 and Champions League in 1996. He earned 20 caps for Italy and was part of squads that achieved runners-up status in the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000. Antonio began his coaching career as an assistant in Siena in 2005 and had spells at Arezzo, Bari – where he won Serie B – and Atalanta before returning to Juventus in 2011.
He won the title in his first season, 2011/12, completing the campaign unbeaten and equalling a club record 28-match unbeaten run set by Fabio Capello. He completed a hat-trick of titles with success in 2012/13 and 2013/14, when Juventus amassed a Serie A record of 102 points. Antonio took charge of the Italian national team in 2014 and led them to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, topping their group and beating Belgium and Spain along the way.
