How did Antonio Conte's relationship with Andrea Agnelli break down?

Antonio Conte and Andrea Agnelli loved each other at Juventus but after an angry farewell, hatred flows between them and their relationship has hit a new low after the Inter coach was told to ‘to ‘f*** off and shut up’ by his old boss in the Coppa Italia

  • Antonio Conte has enjoyed great success as a player and coach at Juventus 
  • But, now at Inter Milan, he is very much at odds with the legendary Italian side
  • President Andrea Agnelli was once a great admirer of Conte’s when they worked together at Juve but now, their relationship is in ruins
  • READ: Conte and Agnelli in furious bust-up as Juventus chief tells Inter Milan manager to ‘f*** off after he flipped his middle finger at his former boss 

‘We All Loved Each Other So Much’ is the title of a film by the famous Italian director Ettore Scola, in which he tells the relationship between friends who, at the end of World War II, become enemies. 

Many wonder why Andrea Agnelli and Antonio Conte have become two enemies on the pitch with gestures and insults not worthy of their past. Agnelli is the youngest Juventus president of the last 50 years, who bet everything on Conte after the Italian coach had enjoyed a splendid season in Serie B in Siena.

He brought Conte back to the club he had captained as a player – a choice that should have guaranteed gratitude to the president but four years later, there is an aggressive showdown between the parties, with Agnelli telling Conte to ‘f*** off’ after Conte flipped the middle finger at him. What has happened?

Antonio Conte (left) was brought back to Juventus by Agnelli (right) as manager in 2011 but their relationship soured before he departed in 2014 and it appears there is no love lost still

The two men enjoyed great success together as Conte guided Juventus to three straight titles


But on Tuesday night, Juventus president Agnelli (left) got into a heated exchange with Inter manager Conte (right) in which he told his former employee to ‘f*** off and shut up’

In short, problems and misunderstandings born from easily manageable whims that Conte decided to leave unresolved has closed his relationship with the club that launched him in Serie A as a footballer and as a coach. 

Now, as long as Agnelli is president of Juventus, the doors for Conte will always remain closed – that’s the promise made by Agnelli on the day of Conte’s tumultuous farewell to the Old Lady. 

All the love shown over the years as a footballer and on the bench by Juve was washed away in 48 tumultuous hours, or the time elapsed between the confirmation of wanting to stay in Turin and the historical 3-minute, 45 second video, agreed with the club, in which Conte announced to fans he would leave Juventus after just one day of pre-season training back in 2014.

It was a surprise move that deeply hurt Agnelli, the winning and respectful president of Juventus, and deeply impacted the human and professional balance between Conte and the Juventus world. 

In the farewell letter with which Juventus greeted Conte, the club, at the behest of the president, vowed not to be intimidated by Conte’s exit and assured everyone they would continue winning. 

Agnelli chose to start from scratch by appointing Massimiliano Allegri, who was welcomed in Turin by people throwing  fruit and vegetables at his car. Yes, the club’s supporters didn’t want Allegri on the bench at first.

Conte returned to Juventus and enjoyed great success in a three-year spell as manager


Before being Juve manager, Conte had established a fine reputation during his playing days at the club and notably won the 1996 Champions League

Conte would often clash with the Juve executives of transfers, as well. This part of the story reflects a troubled relationship after three years of success in Serie A and a frayed bond due to the continuous market requests from Conte, who kept asking for Juan Cuadrado without success. 

The Colombia international has always been considered fundamental by Conte for his 3-5-2 formation but Juventus never managed to buy him in the period in which he was the manager. 

Cuadrado eventually became a Juventus player, but Conte was already gone and to enjoy the presence of the winger and full-back were his successors Allegri, Maurizio Sarri and now Andrea Pirlo. 

Yet in 2014, it was agreed by Marotta and Juventus together with Conte that the outgoing boss had to be accompanied in the termination of his contract with a video that would help fans understand his reasons for leaving. 

According to ‘Panorama’, that video was not complete and was edited to cover a future question about the possibility of taking over at the helm of the Italian national team that the parties preferred to remove before publication. 

The club wanted it to be clear the decision to part ways was that of the coach and his fatigue after three years at the highest level and winning 100 points in Serie A. 

The truth is that the relationship between Conte and Juventus ended earlier that summer, in May with Conte’s controversial words on the club’s financial management: “I can’t sit at the 100 euro restaurant if I only have 10 euro in my pocket”. 

Conte was eager to sign Juan Cuadrado at Juve, but he was bought after Conte left the club

Conte wanted era at Juve that would mimic Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign at Manchester United

The technician’s phrases were contemptuous and certainly not appreciated by Agnelli and the company’s top management, who wanted to punish him with a fine. 

Conte would have gladly stayed at Juventus and was ready to marry a project as long as it was a winner, with many millions to invest. Conte wanted to become like Sir Alex Ferguson, an incomparable icon of English football but in Manchester United, he had a club where renewals and market negotiations had to have the involvement of a manager. 

Now Juventus and Conte are enemies and will always be.




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