Chelsea News and Rumors: Antonio Conte Appointed as Full Time Chelsea Manager
Last season's English Premier League champions Chelsea, who have endured a horror season in 2015-16 have appointed Italian national team manager Antonia Conte as their full time manager. The West London club released a statement on Monday afternoon stating that Conte has been appointed as their full time manager for the season commencing in August 2016 and interim manager Guus Hiddink will be in charge of the squad till the end of the season.
The Italian, who used to play as a midfielder for Italian giants Juventus, has managed numerous clubs in Italy including Juventus from from 2011 until 2014. In 2014, he was appointed as the coach of the Italian national team. During his time at Juventus, he led the club to three back to back Italian Serie A titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. Conte has been in Chelsea's sights ever since they decided to part ways with their previous full time manager Jose Mourinho in December of last year and after some round of negotiations they have finally got their man.
According to reports in The Guardian, the Italian is going to be paid a total of £15 million for the entirety of his three year contract and if he is able to win the Champions League then he will be paid a further £5 million bonus. Conte is known as a tactically astute manager who can make his teams very hard to beat and in fact, he helped Juventus go an entire season unbeaten in 2011-12. Chelsea would certainly benefit from the sort of tactical nous that Conte will bring to the table and it is expected that the team will be back to its real selves when the next season commences.
Conte, who has already spoken about his willingness to step down from his post as the Italian national team manager, will manage the team at the European Championships in France this year and then take charge of Chelsea once the tournament concludes. Chelsea would be looking to mount a serious assult on both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League next season. Conte is also expected to oversee a restructuring of the squad during the summer.
