Conte explains how he dealt with Chelsea players complaining training was too hard – Football Italia

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 31: Antonio Conte, Manager of Chelsea congratulates his players after the Premier League match between Chelsea and Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on December 31, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

Antonio Conte has explained how he deals with players who believe that his methods in training are too ‘tough’, and has pointed to an example from his time at Chelsea when the then-captain requested that he reduce the players’ workload. 

Conte on training methods and Chelsea player complaints

Speaking in an interview with Corriere della Sera, Conte described his coaching methods, explained that he thinks that players do not train anywhere near as hard as they used to, and told the story of when Chelsea players complained that they were being overworked. 

Conte, who has won league titles with four different clubs (Juventus, Chelsea, Inter and Napoli), and has won the league title in his first season on three different occasions, has a reputation for being meticulous in his preparation and ruthless in his physical work with the players. 

He explained that when he first came to Chelsea in 2016, the captain at the time, presumably John Terry, approached him and asked him to ‘slow down the pace’ and to do fewer video analysis sessions. 

“One time, the Chelsea captain came to me to ask to slow down the pace (of training), to do fewer video sessions. I agreed, mainly out of respect to their culture, their different way of approaching football,” Conte told Corriere della Sera. 

He went on to explain: “When you’re in a different country, you have to be careful to not cause too much upset.

“Well, we lost two games in a row and I risked being sacked,” he continued. 

“Since then, I always think that if I have to ‘die’ as a result of the choices that have been made, I have to do it my way, and not in the hands of others. This is the way. ‘Trust the process’ as they say in England. 

“And when I think back to how tough training was, I smile. Zidane and Del Piero trained much harder. Today, we do about a third of what we used to do.

“The work has to be linked to the results on the pitch. I’ve coached teams where after a little while, the players themselves began to identify dangerous situations. For me, that means that we’ve achieved the right result.”