Star News Reporter Lee Won-hee | 2023.03.11 21:08
It is claimed that Antonio Conte (54), the manager of Tottenham, wants to be the manager of the prestigious Spanish Real Madrid as his next job.
On the 10th (Korea time), England’s HITC borrowed the argument of reporter Miguel Delaney of The Independent, saying, “Conte wants to be Real’s manager, and former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is the same.”
Conte’s position seems uneasy. Last season, he took over as Tottenham manager midway through the season and lifted the team, which had fallen to mid-table, to 4th in the league. European Championship ticket. Praise poured in. As expected, the evaluation of being a master was organised.
But things have changed this season. Despite recruiting several players like Richarlison and reinforcing their strength, they are not performing as well as expected. They were eliminated from three cup competitions, including the Champions League and Korea, and even fourth place in the league looks uneasy. At the moment, Tottenham are 4th in the league with 14 wins, 3 draws and 9 losses (45 points), but the gap with Liverpool in 5th place (42 points) is not big. Furthermore, Liverpool have played one game less than Tottenham. Reversal is possible at any time. Criticism towards Conte also intensified.
Conte’s overt defensive tactics also appear to be criticised. It was good to run the game steady for a win, but attention was drawn to the fact that the form of Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski dropped because they focused too much on defense. Indeed, Son Heung-min, who was the top scorer in the EPL last season, is sluggish with 5 goals in 24 league games this season. Conte is also known to have clashed with the club several times over the recruitment issue. Based on various reasons, the hope that Conte will put down the helm of Tottenham after this season prevails.
It would be nice if Conte could take over as Real Madrid coach straight after leaving Tottenham, but to do that he would have to cross a lot of mountains. First of all, Real Madrid must say goodbye to current manager Carlo Ancelotti. However, the contract period is until 2024, and the performance this season is not bad, so there is no big problem. If I have to pick one, that they are second in the league behind their ‘rival’ in Barcelona. Other than this, there is nothing special to hold the pod.
Another stumbling block is that Conte’s managerial career is on the wane. The media also claimed that “Conte is unlikely to take over as Real manager. He is a great manager, but he does not have a good record in the Champions League. Also, Conte’s football is too defensive,” and argued that he did not have Real fit. The Boot Room in England also noted that “Conte’s share price has fallen over the last 18 months as he has been sluggish at Tottenham.”
The gaze towards Pochettino is also negative. HITC said, “Pochettino is a great coach, but his time at his former club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) was complicated.” Pochettino is yet to find a new team after leaving PSG last year.
[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
