CHELSEA: FABREGAS REVEALS LIFE UNDER CONTE

Veteran midfielder Cesc Fabregas has revealed what life was like under Antonio Conte during his time at Chelsea. The Spaniard spoke to CBS Sports about Conte and what the Tottenham Hotspur players can expect from their new manager. According to Cesc Fabregas,Italian tactician Conte is a manager who’s highly demanding.

Conte is back on the Premier League stage once again following his appointment as the Spurs boss at the start of this month in the place of the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo. According to Cesc Fabregas, his management style is difficult and intense having experienced it at close quarters. Fabregas played under Conte during his two-year spell as Chelsea manager.

Fabregas won the Premier League title in his first season under Conte at Chelsea before he added the FA Cup title in the second and final season for the Italian manager at Stamford Bridge. Conte left Chelsea with a year left to run on his contract and he was involved in a messy dispute with the club over his compensation. In the end, the Italian was granted a compensationwhilehe was ineligible to work for the final year of his contract with the West Londoners.

Conte was appointed the Inter Milan manager shortly after he was free from his Chelsea contract. In his first season at the San Siro,he led the Nerazzuri to the Europa League final before they were beaten by Spanish La Liga outfit Sevilla. Inter Milan ended on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller. Contewas in the Inter Milan dugout as they lost 3-2 to Sevilla who are widely regarded as Europa League specialists. In his second season as the Inter Milan manager, Conte led the club to the Italian Serie A. He left the club in the summer with one year left on the three-year deal signed at the time of his appointment in 2019.

CHIELLINI PULLS OUT OF ITALY SQUAD

European champions Italy have been handed a significant blow after key defender Giorgio Chiellini pulled out of the Italy squad ahead of the games against Switzerland and the Northern Ireland in Group C of the UEFA qualifiers for next year’s FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar.

Italy senior national team manager Roberto Mancini has had to deal with a lot of injuries to important players ahead of the two games billed for this month. Apart from veteran Juventus defender Chiellini, Mancini will also be without the services of in-form Lazio striker Ciro Immobile and the AS Roma duo of Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolo Zaniolo due to respective injuries.

While an important player such as Chiellini has been ruled out of the qualifying games against Switzerland and the Northern Ireland, Mancini and his coaching staffs received a big boost after Nicolo Barellaand Leonardo Bonucci were passed fit. Diminutive midfielder Barella plays his club football for Italian Serie A champions Inter Milan and he recently penned a new long-term deal at the club, while experienced centre back Bonucci is on the payroll of Italian football giants Juventus.

Italian football is on the rise after the Euro 2020 title win in the summer and expectation is high amongst the Italian fans with an automatic slot for the World Cup almost non-negotiable from Group C. Italy will qualify for the World Cup tournament next year if they manage to beat Switzerland at home plus a draw from the last game. A win over the Swiss team will ensure that they need a draw in the last game against hosts Northern Ireland.A draw with Switzerland and a win over the Northern Irish team should also do the job for the Italians. Either ways, four points frrom the remaining two games should be enough to seal a return to the World Cup stage considering that they missed out on the last edition in Russia three years ago.

The Juventus duo of Chiellini and Bonucci were at the heart of the defence at Euro 2020 as they took Italian football back to the top of European football thanks to the penalty shootout win over England in the final. The victory over the English team sealed a second European Championship title for Italy. In the absence of Chiellini, Mancini is likely to turn to Inter Milan centre back Alessandro Bastoni.