Antonio Conte backs down on Tottenham jibe he made when he was Chelsea boss
Nuno sacked by Tottenham after fifth Premier League defeat of the season
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Antonio Conte has sensationally backed down on a cutting observation of Tottenham he made while he was the Chelsea boss. The Italian has been appointed by Spurs to replace Nuno Espirito Santo.
Conte was actually in talks to be appointed at Spurs in the summer but they broke down over his concerns about spending and Harry Kane’s future.
But chairman Daniel Levy has now convinced the 52-year-old to take charge after he sacked Nuno on Monday.
Former Inter Milan boss Conte has previously questioned the ambition at Spurs in a hard-hitting interview.
He had just guided Chelsea to their latest Premier League title in 2017, pipping the North Londoners to the top of the table by a comfortable seven-point margin. Conte then questioned how much Spurs want to win silverware.
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The Lilywhites have not won a major honour since lifting the League Cup in 2008, which is partly why Kane wanted a transfer to Manchester City after Euro 2020.
“If [Spurs] don’t win the title, it’s not [seen as] a tragedy,” Conte said, as quoted by the BBC.
“Maybe for Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and – I don’t know – Liverpool, it is a tragedy. You must understand the status of the team.
“Every team has to understand what their ambitions are. If their ambitions are to fight for the title or win the Champions League, you must buy expensive players. Otherwise you continue to stay in your level. It’s simple.
“My question is this: What are Tottenham’s expectations?
“If they don’t arrive in the Champions League, it’s not a tragedy. If they go out in the first round of the Champions League, it’s not a tragedy.
“If they go out after the first game that they play in the Europa League, it’s not a tragedy.”
Four years on, Conte is now the Spurs boss and has a much different observation of his new side. Fresh from a Serie A title win at Inter and after a short break from football, he will likely bring a winning mentality to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Conte praised the club’s ambition to be a ‘protagonist’ again, telling the club’s website: “I am extremely happy to return to coaching, and to do so at a Premier League club that has the ambition to be a protagonist again.
“Tottenham Hotspur has state-of-the-art facilities and one of the best stadiums in the world.
“I can’t wait to start working to convey to the team and the fans the passion, mentality and determination that have always distinguished me, as a player and as a coach.
“Last summer our union did not happen because the end of my relationship with Inter was still too recent and emotionally too involved with the end of the season, so I felt that it wasn’t yet the right time to return to coaching.
“But the contagious enthusiasm and determination of Daniel Levy in wanting to entrust me with this task had already hit the mark. Now that the opportunity has returned, I have chosen to take it with great conviction.”
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