London, May 20, 2018 - Chelsea manager Antonio Conte sent a message of defiance to the club hierarchy after his team won the FA Cup 1-0 against Manchester United, but his departure seems inevitable.
Difficult season - “I can’t change,” repeated Conte four times as he contemplated his future in West London. The Italian was cheered up the steps to the royal box and serenaded by the Chelsea supporters, but it did little to empower Conte about his future with the club.
He said: “When you are used to win every season there are moments when you have a lot of questions for yourself but even in a difficult season like this I showed I am a serial winner and to win in this way has given me more satisfaction that other wins in the past.”
A game Conte can’t win - The lives of Chelsea managers are, however, cyclical and ultimately futile, because, no matter what, Chelsea’s hunger for success can somehow never be satisfied. Even a valedictorian win for Conte against an underwhelming Manchester United wasn’t a real win. In the long run, this was not a game Conte could win. Nominal victory was just a glorified farewell to Chelsea.
Conte said: “Our job is not simple and I understand that the club can make a negative decision but I am the first to understand, as coach of a great and important club in England and the world, that the club demands a lot of me.”
Transfer policy - The Italian is not the first coach to experience the FA Cup final as a funeral procession. Roberto Mancini, at Manchester City, and Louis van Gaal, at Manchester United, have gone before him. The Dutchman was even booed by a section of his own fans as he collected his winners’ medal. From the moment that Conte had demanded more control over Chelsea’s transfer policy - before last year’s FA Cup final against Arsenal - his fate was sealed. The request was rebuffed and Conte was no longer in the grace of his board and trigger-happy owner Roman Abramovich. Chelsea is to chopping and always in a constant flux, yet in those circumstances the club always thrives.
A hero? - Earlier this week Conte insisted that he is still a hero, stressing that the notions of hard work and success should be separated. Semantics apart, Conte has a point. He won the Premier League in his first season and the FA Cup in his second. Those trophies complement a long list of honours at Juventus. He is of his own accord a ‘serial winner’ - but one with flaws.
Proper Conte side - His discontent at recruitment policy and with the board, who, in Conte’s view, failed to build on the last season’s success, infected the club and the dressing room and lowered the collective spirit. Conte’s strength - his man-management, his demanding drills during training - became his weaknesses. Against United, Chelsea were a proper Conte team again. They protected the lead Eden Hazard had given them from the spot and showed plenty of resolve and resilience. They won deservedly as Paul Pogba, who had been so lethargic, headed United’s biggest chance wide in the closing stages of the final.
Future - The Chelsea board must now contemplate if Chelsea will benefit from dispensing with a top coach, whose record has been commendable. Can Chelsea, who will play in the Europa League next season, even attract a successor of Conte’s status?
