Compelling reasons to finally have a Conte to vote for (as manager)

Fabrizio Roncone is right, as he wrote in the Corriere della Sera: Andrea Pirlo as manager of the national team seems like a joke. An affectionate one, because Pirlo was a marvellous footballer, a world champion, a sublime playmaker. But this isn’t about choosing the playmaker of the 2006 Italian team. It’s about rebuilding the national team after a third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup. And Pirlo, as things stand, does not have the credentials to do so. This is not meant to be harsh; it is simply a matter of his track record. At Juventus, he finished fourth and was knocked out in the Champions League round of 16, salvaging the season with the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa. In Turkey, he finished seventh. At Sampdoria, he reached the play-offs, was knocked out straight away, and the following year was sacked after three matchdays and just one point, in a season that ended with relegation to Serie C. In the UAE, he secured a historic promotion: well done. But that can be a fresh start, not a competition to become Italy’s manager. Paolo Maldini wants him, along with Leonardo. Maldini is Maldini and deserves respect. But precisely for this reason, he should know that great teams do not rely on friends: they rely on managers. In a season in which Germany is considering Jürgen Klopp, Brazil is relying on Carlo Ancelotti and France is likely to turn to Zinedine Zidane, choosing a manager who didn’t even last until the fourth matchday at Sampdoria would not be humiliating. It would be ridiculous.

Then there’s Pep Guardiola. It would be a dream come true: one must make the call; it’s sheer madness even to imagine it. The problem is that he costs over twenty million euros a year, a figure way beyond the FIGC’s means. It would require sponsors, financial ingenuity and a very strict wage cap. Magnificent. But a national team cannot wait for a dream to become a contract. With all due respect to Roberto Mancini, the issue is different. Respect for the man who won the European Championship and even for the man who, at the ‘Partita del Cuore’, had the courage to coach the editor of this newspaper. Malagò would like Mancini, we know that, and the suspicion that that match was also a job interview is not entirely unfounded. It would be a sensible solution, but also a return to the past. He won a European Championship, but failed to take Italy to the World Cup. After three consecutive failures to qualify, we need more than just a return to the past. Allegri would be almost perfect: pragmatic, authoritative, suited to tough matches. But he’s coming off too many defeats to be the face of a revival.

Antonio Conte remains. At last, a Conte we can all get behind, someone everyone could rally round: the right, the left, the centre, Inter fans, Juventus fans, AC Milan fans, even the reformists. Conte knows the national team; he knows how to turn an ordinary side into a formidable one. When he joins a club, he doesn’t stay long, but something almost always happens: he ushered in a new era at Juventus, won titles at Chelsea, broke Juventus’s dominance with Inter, and won the Scudetto with Napoli. Above all, Conte wears down those who lack his qualities. The truth must come out. Beppe Marotta wants Conte for the national team. Out of affection and respect, of course, but also because the surest way to ensure he doesn’t end up on the bench of one of Inter’s rivals is to send him to Coverciano. It’s not a conspiracy; it’s a precaution. Marotta knows that, after two years, Conte might fall out with everyone, say his goodbyes and leave everyone exhausted. But before that, he often wins. And that is the problem. Conte lasts two years, whereas it takes four to rebuild Italy and guide it to the 2030 World Cup.

The call is not merely to choose him. It is to persuade him, for once, not to act like Conte: a four-year contract, clearly defined powers, a strong project, and no walkout after the first row. The national team cannot afford prestigious apprenticeships, casting calls amongst friends or nostalgia-driven moves. Guardiola is the dream, Mancini is the memory, Pirlo is the gamble. Antonio Conte is the solution. For once, there’s a Conte we could all agree on. If you agree, sign here: [email protected].