ROME, ITALY – FEBRUARY 02: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of Napoli, gives his side instructions during the Serie A match between AS Roma and Napoli at Stadio Olimpico on February 02, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
Antonio Conte has been successful at almost every club he has managed, but at Tottenham, there was disappointment. The Italian, who led Napoli to the Serie A title last season, failed to win any trophies during his time in north London, and his 53.95% win percentage in the lowest was the lowest of his career since Siena in 2011.
As per Sky Sports Italia (via Football Italia), Conte has now opened up on his spell in charge of Tottenham. He revealed that a difference in ambitions played a part in the two parties splitting in 2023.
“That was certainly a difficult year. I arrived at Tottenham in November with the team ninth in the table, in the first year we beat Arsenal to the Champions League spot. For Tottenham, you must understand, qualifying for the Champions League is practically the same as winning the Premier League title.
“I remember at the end of the game with Norwich, there were celebrations in the dressing room. I called my staff over and told them, we’d better not get used to this sort of celebration, meaning we shouldn’t be celebrating Champions League qualification as if it was the Premier League title.
“We were accustomed to celebrating for very different things.”
Antonio Conte opens up on personal issues while at Tottenham
Conte also revealed that deaths of people he was close with also affected him.
“I had signed a contract for a year-and-a-half, to see what situation I was getting into, but all sorts of things happened that year. Ventrone died from leukaemia that took him away in the space of 15 days. That was an incredible blow, emotionally and psychologically, because we had such a strong bond,” explained Conte.
“In the same period, Gianluca Vialli died. I’d seen him a month earlier, along with my wife at a restaurant. He seemed calm, but there was also the sense something was not right. Sinisa Mihajlovic died around then too.”
Conte, whose Napoli side are considering signing a number of Premier League players this summer, has moved on from the episode, but a return to England in the future may be out of the question.
