Antonio Conte comments spell out key differences between Tottenham and Chelsea

Antonio Conte’s comments on the differences between Tottenham and Chelsea are telling ahead of his first match against the Blues since being dismissed back in 2018

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Conte admits Stamford Bridge return will be ’emotional’

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte will this week meet his former club Chelsea for the first time since leaving Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2018.

The Italian led the Blues to the Premier League title in the 2016/17 season and the FA Cup the following year, but his tenure at the club was cut short after two seasons.

It was a tumultuous relationship between Conte and Chelsea, with unquestionable on-field results being tempered by off-field issues which eventually ended his tenure at the club.

Conte fell out with high-profile members of the Blues first-team squad and most notably star striker Diego Costa, whom he informed by text message that he had no plans for – weeks after winning the title.

This was the juncture where the former Juventus boss saw his relationship with Chelsea’s board of directors begin to break down, as the club missed out on multiple transfer targets – including Romelu Lukaku, who joined Manchester United.

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Results on the pitch began to deteriorate too as the Blues dropped out of the top four in Conte’s second, and final, season in the dugout.

Their FA Cup success was not enough to save the Italian from being removed from his post after returning to take pre-season training the following campaign, as he was replaced by Maurizio Sarri.

Relations between Conte and Chelsea have barely improved since, after he successfully sued the club for £26million following his exit from the West London club.

Yet there was little doubt that, despite their differences, Conte and Chelsea suited each other in many ways.

They both prioritised winning and often – unfairly be perception or otherwise – did not prioritise a long-term plan or a particular style of football in order to gain it.

They are both pragmatists and the revolving nature of Chelsea’s managerial hotseat and Conte’s own career indicate that the two years they shared together was by no means an exceptionally short period for either.

Conte, when Blues boss, did outline the difference between the club and Tottenham – claiming that it was all a matter of expectations.

The Italian outlined that the demands in North London were not as high and the pressures were subsequently not the same at the two clubs.

“What are Tottenham’s expectations?” Conte questioned.

“If they don’t win the title it’s not a tragedy. If they don’t arrive in the Champions League it’s not a tragedy. If they go out in the first round of the Champions League it’s not a tragedy. If they go out in the Europa League against Gent, it’s not a tragedy.

“They can breathe and think in a different way.”

The comments are an indicator of the pressure and expectations that Conte felt at Chelsea, which undoubtedly would have been similar to those he experienced at Juventus and Inter.

That he specifically called out Spurs as not having the same demands upon them was also telling and could be indicative that the club’s hiring of him was enough to sway his opinion.

Conte does not tolerate fools and is unlikely to stick around at any one club if he does not believe they have the specific designs in place to land success.

This week’s clash against Chelsea looks set to be another key measure of just how far the team have come under his management ahead of a challenging second half of the campaign.