“I don’t like that every time I have to come and show my face”, said Antonio in 2019 after Dortmund’s Champions League match against Inter
But does Antonio Conte want or not want the managers to intervene tactically after the match to defend and/or accuse, set fire to and/or extinguish, focus and/or mislead and, in any case, direct the narrative of a match? Has the coach, today at Napoli and yesterday at Inter, always considered them really annoying “dads” who interfere in matters that aren’t theirs and who delegitimize the figure of the coach, as said yesterday? Or, when things concern him personally, does he always demand a “high” support intervention, a corporate lightning rod that helps the technician’s work? The doubt, almost philosophical, would come from seeing the flaming darts launched yesterday from the Maradona stadium at the camp of his former team and from rereading some old, completely opposite Contian statements. Some uttered during his tormented two years at Inter and addressed to Beppe Marotta himself, the president (once CEO) who was the subject of the accusation. Whether it is a legitimate evolution of thought or simply a strategy to be used in the championship fight, the thoughts of his former fans went to the Inter Conte on the night in Dortmund, the one who raised hell so that the Nerazzurri managers, the same as today, took a microphone in their hands after the match.
that night in Dortmund
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It was the fourth day of the 2019-20 Champions League group, Antonio’s first season as an Inter player, which was then ravaged by Covid. At half-time, the Nerazzurri were leading 2-0 over Borussia, then in the second half came the German comeback (the infatuation with Hakimi was born then) which was seen by Conte as a structural alarm signal: “We have reached the limit, we can’t work miracles…”, he thundered. And then, the strategic part: “I don’t want alibis, but I don’t like that every time I have to come and show my face. Someone from the company should come here to talk every now and then.” Conte wasn’t just complaining about the match itself, but about an incomplete transfer market (Inter had taken Lukaku and Barella, among others…), a short squad and, above all, internal communication. In short, the coach felt alone in defending the team and asked that the managers speak publicly in difficult moments. In practice, the exact opposite of yesterday.
with Parma
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Unlike in Naples, the referee was not involved then, but if you dig deeper into the Inter years you will find very different statements to those of Maradona even when there is some unwelcome whistle involved. The thread of memory goes back to 31 October 2020, immediately Inter-Parma 2-2 at San Siro, an evening of Nerazzurri regrets for a penalty denied to Perisic. That time, yes, with Marotti’s intervention in defense of Conte and the team: “There are no excuses for our performance, it wasn’t a good match but Conte will talk about that. Today, however, we lacked a very clear penalty, the error was obvious. I intervene to denounce the legislative and regulatory vacuum on VAR, which intervenes only in the event of a clear error by the referee”. Afterwards, the manager seemed to appreciate it: “The penalty on Perisic? The club spoke, it’s right that the managers speak if they have something to say. I analyze the match…”. Now the Inter fans criticize the forgetful Count, but deep down they know that it is just a Pirandellian party game: the championship fight is without quarter, it concerns the field, words and even memory.
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