Antonio Conte has revealed he would like to manage a team “that has recently won”, as he emphasised the need for a club to have a successful history in an apparent dig at some of his recent employers.
The Italian has been out of a job since leaving Tottenham in March, when his time in north London came to a dramatic end after he labelled his players “selfish’ and slammed culture at the club.
In his 16 months at Spurs, Conte was unable to end the club’s wait for a trophy, falling to tame exits last season to AC Milan and Sheffield United in the Champions League and FA Cup respectively.
Conte recently insisted he was enjoying spending time with his family when asked about his future plans, but the 54-year-old has now discussed a potential return and his desire to avoid the kind of projects he has had in recent years.
“One day I would like to coach a team that has recently won,” Conte said at a Sports Festival in Trento organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“For example I took Chelsea coming off a seventh place, Juve after seventh.”
In the final weeks of his tenure at Spurs, Conte was hugely critical of the mentality of the club, claiming the problems went much deeper than simply the manager and major changes would be required to end the trophy drought.
The Italian regularly referenced the Tottenham’s past struggles, and it is clear that he views a club’s history as crucial to future success.
“When I hear people say that history doesn’t count, for me it’s a big lie,” Conte said.
“When you enter the headquarters, the sports center, and you turn and look... being surrounded by trophies, by cups, it leads you to say ‘these have done it, we are here to try to repeat what has been done in the past’.
“When there is history, even if there is dust on it, the winning mentality you find and the path becomes less complicated.
“When you win you understand what victory brings, being celebrated and writing history; then you want to repeat yourself and struggle to accept defeat.”
