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Chelsea: Is Antonio Conte just Jose Mourinho 2.0?

By Rucker Haringey

Italian headcoach Antonio Conte walks at the field after a friendly football match Germany vs Italy in Muinch, southern Germany, on March 29, 2016. / AFP / CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
Italian headcoach Antonio Conte walks at the field after a friendly football match Germany vs Italy in Muinch, southern Germany, on March 29, 2016. / AFP / CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images) /
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New Chelsea boss Antonio Conte may just be a harsher version of former manager Jose Mourinho

Interim manager Guus Hiddink has done a terrific job during his time at Chelsea because of the differences between he and his predecessor Jose Mourinho. Roman Abramovich may rue the day he decided to hire Antonio Conte because he’s all too similar to The Special One.

In case you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, Chelsea formally announced Conte as their new boss yesterday. The current Italian national team boss will take over at Stamford Bridge after his duties are concluded at Euro 2016

The news of Conte’s appointment has largely been met with plaudits all around the British press. However, the more I read about the revered manager the more skeptical I become regarding the chances of his success at Stamford Bridge.

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In fact, it’s one particular quote from Andrea Pirlo that gives me the greatest trepidation regarding Conte. The majestic midfielder described his former boss’ ability to have his words “crash through the doors of your mind, often quite violently, and settle deep within you.” That’s not exactly the description that current Chelsea players will find comforting in advance of their new manager’s arrival.

In fact, the hard-line philosophy that Pirlo describes immediately conjures images of Mourinho in my mind. His mind games and sharp tongue wrought havoc in the Chelsea dressing room and cost the club any chance at glory this season. It’s fair to say that the squad is still struggling from the emotional scars left by Mourinho.

That’s what makes Conte’s appointment so puzzling. Shouldn’t Abramovich realize that a gentler manager would be more successful with his current roster? While I wouldn’t necessarily support him installing Hiddink as a permanent boss, I would argue that Chelsea need a manager similar to him to continue their post-Mourinho healing process.

Instead, Abramovich has opted for another hardline manager. I presume his thought process is that he’s lost patience with the current squad and their mindset so he’s happy to bring in a boss who will whip them into shape. In reality, the Chelsea owner also expects Conte to turn a significant amount of his roster over in a very short amount of time.

This type of philosophy firmly commits Abramovich to a very expensive future. The chances of Conte influencing the current Chelsea squad in a distinctly positive manner are pretty slim. He will have to spend serious cash this summer to remake the roster in his own image. Sure, Chelsea will receive healthy transfer fees for many of its stars, but you can bet their purchases will be significantly more expensive.

In a strange way, hiring Conte as his manager is almost an admission from Abramovich that Mourinho had the right philosophy to succeed at Stamford Bridge. Perhaps the simpler solution would have truly been to keep Mourinho and fire the squad.

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Conte is unlikely to flop at Chelsea because of the mountain of cash that will support his reign as manager. Make no mistake though, this man is simply Jose Mourinho 2.0. He will not have a smooth transition as he tries to put Chelsea back on top of the Premier League.

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