Football
9y

Italy boss Antonio Conte expects warm welcome from Juventus fans

Italy coach Antonio Conte says he is expecting only a warm welcome from the fans at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday night when he returns there with the national team to face England.

His acrimonious split from Juventus last summer, after winning three straight Serie A titles, is not the reason why doubts have been raised about the warmth of the reception he will be given.

Instead, controversy over the injury Claudio Marchisio picked up while on international duty last Friday has led to a deterioration of the relationship between Conte and his former club.

Amid claims Conte had been working the players too hard, it was confirmed that the former Bianconeri coach had received death threats over the weekend, believed to be from Juve fans.

He expects only cheers from those who worshipped him for the past three years, in addition to the 13 he spent in Turin as a player, when he walks out at the Juventus Stadium for the first time since lifting the Serie A title last May.

"I think we'll have lots of fans on our side," Conte said at a news conference. "The fans have got to support Italy. I think I have a great relationship with the Italian fans. They know we're working -- I, the players and everybody are trying to work hard when things are not easy.

"When somebody is giving it the best they've got, they always hope to be appreciated."

He intended himself with that final remark, and he feels he will be appreciated at least for what he did for Juventus.

"It was certainly emotional for me today coming through the gates, going into the dressing room and going out onto the field," he said. "There were some very strong emotions. I spent three fantastic years with great memories which remain indelible."

Conte has already announced which team he will send out again England tomorrow night, starting with Gianluigi Buffon, who has recovered from a fever.

Andrea Ranocchia, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini will form Conte's customary three-man defence while Alessandro Florenzi and Matteo Darmian will play as wing-backs. Marco Parolo, Mirko Valdifiori and Roberto Soriano complete the midfield with Southampton forward Graziano Pelle partnering Sampdoria's Eder up front

It is an experimental side with Valdifiori making his debut and Pelle partnering Eder for the first time, with Simone Zaza and Ciro Immobile left out.

With that in mind, and in view of recent criticism of his players and the 2-2 draw in Bulgaria, Conte has begged for understanding if things do not go according to plan.

"It's such a strange time for our football that we've got to be humble enough to recognise who we are and how much work we've got to do," he said. "People are complaining all the time, but then they act surprised when teams like Croatia are ahead of us. I can only repeat that Croatia have proven they have stronger players with more experience.

"We're going through a change in generation and we've got to be patient and let's not close our eyes. I can understand that it's not interesting and that you sell more papers or have more viewers on TV with controversies, but I've got to try to lead this change of generation.

"Please don't slam the players because this kind of thing does not go down well, and it doesn't help me with my job.

"It's inevitable that when you have such a big generation change, you need to have that bit of patience to allow the players taking their first steps in the national team to grow without being slammed at the first moment.

"We need to work. Having said this, there's not that much time. The European Championship is next year and we want to qualify. We'll try to do our best, but we can't do more than that."

Qualifying points are not at stake on Tuesday, but it will nevertheless be a serious test. That applies also to Buffon, who admits the England attack is one of the most feared in world football.

"[Harry] Kane's certainly the form player in England at the moment and certainly he's a player who's going to strike fear in us, as will [Wayne] Rooney and whoever plays against us," he said.

"England have always been one of the nations with the best selection of forwards. Their bow has plenty of arrows."

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