Christian Stellini, assistant to head coach Antonio Conte, expressed himself on TeleLombardia regarding the former Inter, Juve and Chelsea boss, who has also been linked to Milan:
"The desire to return is strong. The year has been lived under the sign of work and updating: a great job was done in winter because Antonio always wants to update and improve. In the next adventure, if there will be one, there will be some tactical innovations: we have worked a lot on this. Conte wants to bring more unpredictability and modernity to the game."
There's a lot of talk about Antonio Conte being a difficult coach to manage...
"If we are talking about management difficulty, this applies to all important coaches like Conte, even those who are currently growing: it's never easy to create synergies between the club and the coach because the club always has result and economic needs that don't always align with the coach's needs, who wants to win every game. Then there are coaches who hide this fact and others who make it transparent: Conte is transparent, very demanding, but has always achieved great results. And that's the crux of the discussion."
It's also said that Conte makes excessive demands in the transfer market?
"If I look at Conte's career, I see a coach who has asked for ambitious projects, not players. And ambitious projects don't necessarily mean expensive players. The only player expressly requested by Conte was Lukaku, who then scored 60 goals for Inter and won a Scudetto: who wouldn't have taken him at that time? And then he was sold for double the money. This myth also needs to be debunked: Conte has always taken on projects to grow, both in terms of sports and assets, and he has always achieved results."
Does Conte only want a team ready to win?
"I don't think there are limits. These are labels sometimes put on, and they are laughable when it comes to Conte. Conte is like everyone else, not someone who would only choose certain types of projects. Recently there's been talk of Leao associated with Inter, who wasn't taken at Conte's time, but going back in time, if Lukaku was taken, Leao wouldn't have been. What was the best choice at that time? At that moment, the best choice was Lukaku, then it was known that Leao was an important prospect, but a coach chooses according to his needs. It's ridiculous to bring up this story."
Antonio Conte has many difficult labels to remove...
"Results speak for him. Even with the National Team, he created a great group and found results."
So, does Rafael Leao still interest him?
"I think Leao appeals to everyone a little... Great players are always appealing."
What would Antonio Conte choose between Milan and Turin?
"He would take the project, regardless of the economic issue."
Could the Milan project adapt to Conte?
"I can't say that. I only say that all big teams, like Milan, can become projects suitable for Conte: there's no preclusion from anyone. Antonio and I have never discussed it... How can you not associate a great team with great coaches, but this applies to all teams and many great coaches."
What kind of team is Milan?
"Milan is a strong team, currently second in the standings. Of course, there's a gap to bridge with Inter, Pioli has done great things, and in Conte's history, these gaps have been filled. Conte arrived at Juventus with Milan ahead, and Juventus started winning again; Conte went to Inter after Juventus had won 9 Scudettos, and this situation was reversed."
