Antonio Conte has left the door open to a return during the season, provided the project justifies the commitment. His latest reflections place the emphasis not on availability alone, but on the weight of a club’s history, its expectations and its willingness to compete rather than merely take part.
The former Napoli coach described a desire to work for a side that has drifted away from its traditional standards and needs its identity restored. Juventus, Milan, Chelsea and Manchester United are among the major names that fit the broader picture he outlined, although no destination was named.
Quick facts
- Conte said he could consider taking a job during a campaign if the opportunity is worthwhile.
- He believes the Premier League’s financial strength gives English clubs a major advantage over other leagues.
- His only spells without a trophy came at Tottenham and Atalanta.
- He described his time at Napoli as rewarding but physically and emotionally demanding.
- Conte wants a club where pressure is part of the daily environment and winning remains the central objective.
Conte’s competitive edge, he explained, has been shaped as much by defeat as by success. He recalled losing World Cup and European Championship finals with Italy, as well as three Champions League finals during his Juventus playing career: 1996-97, 1997-98 and 2002-03.
“That is why, when I speak to my players, I try to bring out a fierce competitive determination and pass it on,” he said. “I have won a lot, but I have also lost a lot. If you lose a World Cup or Champions League final and then go on holiday, you may think another chance will come. It does not always come. That was the chance.”
That urgency also helps explain why his Tottenham tenure ended in 2023. Conte arrived with the intention of changing the culture, but he felt the club did not share his intolerance for setbacks or his conviction that standards must rise immediately.
He recalled messaging chairman Daniel Levy after a defeat or draw, only to receive reassurance that Tottenham would win the next match. Conte said his reaction was disbelief, arguing that players will often choose the easier path unless pushed beyond it.
What frustrated him most, he added, was hearing the suggestion that Tottenham were simply not a club built to win. “People around me said Tottenham would never win anything, that they were losers,” Conte said. For a coach whose work is based on demanding effort and accountability, that outlook was impossible to accept.
He pointed to Chelsea’s 2016-17 Premier League title as an example of what can happen when hard work and ambition align. Conte said success cannot be treated as something that arrives by chance: it must be pursued, with the difficult work done before the results follow.
Coach at the centre
Conte also returned to a familiar principle in his approach to club management: the coach must be central to the project. In his view, a functioning relationship between the bench and the board requires both balance and chemistry, rather than a separation between sporting ambition and daily decision-making.
His Napoli experience, described as two excellent years, reinforced the demands of that role. Conte called it a wonderful period, while acknowledging that it consumed considerable energy and was not straightforward.
On the wider European landscape, he drew a sharp contrast between England’s spending power and that of rival competitions. “In England they use bazookas now, while elsewhere they are still using pistols,” he said, while adding that the scale of investment does not remove the need to spend intelligently.
The next chapter, whenever it begins, appears likely to depend on more than a vacant bench. Conte wants a club with trophies in its past, a fan base that expects more and a board prepared to chase that old standard again.
“When you join a club whose history speaks for itself, with titles and victories, there is only one way to respect it: you must have the ambition to bring it back into contention,” he said. “Only one team wins each year, but you have to carry that spark and give supporters, players and directors the hope that says: we can win.”
For Conte, the appeal lies in restoring rather than simply maintaining. He is looking for a place where pressure is unavoidable, where participation is not enough, and where the championship is treated as something to be fought for every Sunday.
