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Decider against Chelsea
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Antonio Conte is one of the most widely respected coaches in the modern game but the Italian’s domestic success has never transferred to the Champions League. Last season, Conte made history by becoming the first coach in history to win the Serie A title with three different clubs - Napoli, Juventus and Inter Milan. Furthermore, Conte boasts the best points per game record in Serie A history at 2.21 and he’s revered in his homeland.
The 56-year-old has also tasted success in England, winning the Premier League with Chelsea in 2017 and the FA Cup in the following season. Moreover, Conte has the fifth highest ppg record (2.03) in the Premier League, ahead of Mikel Arteta, José Mourinho and Arne Slot. It’s unquestionable that Conte is an elite domestic manager but he’s never replicated that success in the elite club competition. And ahead of the final matchday in the Champions League, Conte is facing another shock elimination with Napoli and we’ve analysed his record in the competition.
Antonio Conte’s struggles in the Champions League
This is Conte’s seventh campaign in the Champions League and the furthest he’s reached is the quarter final. That arrived in his maiden season managing in the competition with Juventus and it’s the only time that the Italian has reached the last eight. If Napoli fail to get the required result against Chelsea tonight at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium then it will be the fourth time that Conte has exited at the group stages.
And as the graphic above illustrates, only Jorge Jesus would have more group stage eliminations to his name than Conte, since he first managed in the Champions League in the 2012/13 season. When you compare Conte’s numbers in the Champions League to his record in all other competitions then the results are alarming. The Italian’s teams concede more goals, score fewer goals and there’s a huge disparity between his ppg records - Conte’s is 0.66 lower in the Champions League.
So why does Conte struggle to replicate his domestic results in the Champions League? We asked Transfermarkt's Serie A expert, Stefano Buonfino. “Conte has never been a manager with a European or modern style,” said Buonfino. “He has the mentality for long competitions, not knockout football. In Serie A, Conte can take advantage with the press, he has a strong mentality and works hard on players mentality across the full season, where mistakes are more recoverable. In the Champions League, Conte seems to lose all his strengths."
