Football Musings

When Italy step onto the pitch of the Stade de Bordeaux on Saturday to take on Germany for a place in the last four of Euro 2016, they will know they have surpassed expectations, that anything from here on is an added bonus, a welcome gift in a summer when expectations were at an all-time low. If that sounds patronising of a country with five major international trophies to her name, it is because no one really expected them to come this far; many had ruled them out before a ball was kicked in anger in France, with some going as far as declaring that this was the worst Italian team in history.

Italian sports tabloid La Gazzetta dello Sport even attempted to get its excuses in early on the eve of the Azzuri’s opening game against Belgium.

“If [Claudio] Marchisio and [Marco] Verratti were not injured,” the paper wrote. “If Pirlo hadn’t gone over to the stars and stripes [MLS]. If, but for a few hundredths of a co-efficient point, we were seeded. If there were [greater] collaboration between clubs and the national team. If Conte had more than a mediocre 40 percent of players to pick from [in Serie A].”

The message was clear: Italy, with a supposedly historically weak squad already depleted by injuries, were massive underdogs going into the Belgium game, but what most did not take into account was the identity of the man leading Italy into the finals, Antonio Conte.

There have been great teams in the past built in the image of their manager and no other team in this competition encapsulates the very essence of their coach more than the Italians. Iceland have obviously been the feel-good story of the tournament, but Conte has taken a team of rank outsiders to within touching distance of winning a competition they last won when they hosted it in 1968.

In Italy’s Round of 16 victory against Spain on Monday, Conte did a real number on his opposite number Vicente del Bosque, tactically outfoxing the Spain manager. In the end the 2-0 victory suggested a close game, when in reality the margin of victory could well have been wider were it for David de Gea’s heroics in goal and some erratic finishing on the part of the Italians. It was a triumph of tactics over talent.

Italy were expected to sit deep and defend in numbers against Spain, and they did just that, but rather than defend without a coherent attacking plan, Conte’s men broke forward with purpose, passing the ball with zip, pace and purpose to overwhelm their opponents. This was the same template that nullified the threat of a highly favoured Belgian team boasting the services of some of the best attacking players in world football right now.

The Azzuri’s performance at the World Cup in 2014 had reduced the notion of the national team possessing a tight-knit defence to a mere stereotype, but in Conte, the defence has been transformed beyond recognition.

The Juventus quartet of Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci have been the backbone of the side; shutting out more vaunted attacking players and preventing the opposition from getting a sight of goal. The Italian defence has been breached only once – Robbie Brady’s late winner for Ireland – in four games, with the caveat that the group was won and Conte made eight changes to team with an eye on the Spain game.

Conte’s organisation and tactical nous has been the difference maker for his team, an ability to analyse different scenarios and prepare his team accordingly beforehand giving Italy an edge over every opponent they’ve faced so far.

The 46-year-old has shown that he is not afraid to make sweeping changes and disrupt the established order as he did when he decided against picking the MLS pair of Sebastian Giovinco and Andrea Pirlo, with Giovinco in particular deemed to be a shoe-in following his excellent debut season with Toronto FC. Conte spoke of ‘consequences’ for players moving stateside, alluding to the perceived lack of relative quality in the MLS. Indeed, La Reppublica newspaper picked up on Conte picking four players relegated with Cesena in 2012 (Antonio Candreva, Emanuele Giaccherini, Marco Parolo and Eder), dubbed the ‘Cesena Quattro”.

Injuries to Marchisio and Verratti also meant Conte arrived in France without the services of two of the best central midfielders in the world, but Conte has rejigged his side to play to their strengths that has since yielded enormous rewards.

This bodes well for Chelsea where he is due to take over after the tournament. The Blues’ dismal season leaves them without Champions League football and may be a major disadvantage in the transfer market as they aim to attract reinforcements, but this Euros has shown that in Conte, they have a manager capable of achieving success regardless of whatever hand he is dealt by injuries. No one player is more important than the team, and the system is king to Conte.

Andrea Pirlo, who played under Conte at Juventus, perhaps summed up his old boss perfectly, “Conte is able to impose a very precise identity on the team. Organisation is key for him, so players come and go with no difference, as everyone knows what they are meant to do down to the smallest detail. The feeling you get when you play is that you can hurt the opposition at any moment because what you worked on to the point of exhaustion really does pay off in a match situation.“

Germany will be wary of the threat posed by a disciplined and well-drilled Azzuri side, understandably so given Italy’s head-to-head advantage in eight competitive games against their rivals that stands at four wins and four draws.

The obvious retort to all of this is to rightly point out that the last time a manager enhanced his reputation at an international tournament before taking up a job in England, Manchester United ended up spending £250m on transfers with turgid, listless and dull performances to show for it under Louis van Gaal. Conte, however, is no van Gaal. The Dutchman is an elder statesman winding up his storied career and with perhaps no scope for improvement. Conte, on the other hand, is young, hungry and continually learning. Given time and patience, the Italian would make Chelsea great again.

*This article appeared on Yahoo Sport UK under the headline: Euro 2016: Antonio Conte is Italy’s trump card in battle against the odds.