Antonio Conte Rumored To Be Leaving Italian National Team for Chelsea After Euro 2016

Former Juventus manager and Italian national team manager Antonio Conte continues to refuse to talk about the rumours that he will be named the next manager at Chelsea. The fact that he announced that he will be stepping down as the national team manager after the Euro 2016 tournament adds more fuel to the rumours that he is going to England. After announcing he would be leaving the Italian national team, he is now favoured by online sportsbook odds to become Chelsea’s next manager.

Conte declined commenting on the Chelsea job because he said he was focused on getting the Italian team ready for Euro 2016, and commenting on the job would be a distraction to his team.

If Conte does take the job, he will be taking over a club that Jose Mourinho led to the Premier League title last season, and where expectations are unusually high. At Juventus, expectations were also high, but since the competition wasn’t as tough as it is in other leagues, Conte never had to feel the wrath of the fans.

Conte’s departure from the Italian national team was announced last week. According to reports, he will sign a three year contract with the Blues immediately after the Euro 2016 tournament. Despite the reports of his imminent signing with Chelsea, Conte suggested that he was still open to offers from other clubs.

When asked specifically if he would move to Chelsea after the Euro tournament, Conte said he will consider his options and eventually decide whether to stay in Italy of go work abroad. Conte told reporters that the only thing that he could confirm was that he wasn’t going to take another national team job because he missed coaching clubs.

Conte also added that most mangers, including Conte, would love to coach in England but his focus right now is on Italy and how he can help the team win the Euro 2016 tournament.

In the past, Conte was less than open about his plans for the future. He told reporters that he decided to talk about his future because his contract is set to expire after the European tournament.

Conte said that his decision to step down as the coach of the Italian national team after his contract expires was something he felt he needed to do and he explained his decision to the President who he said was 100 percent behind his decision.

Conte told reporters that he would not go into detail about what he said to the President, but he added that he was fully committed to the Italian national team, which he said taught him how to effectively use the little time he spends with the players.

The outgoing manager called his experience as the manager of the Italian team fantastic and extraordinary. He also said it was a dream of his to coach the national team and he was happy that he got to achieve the dream.

Antonio Conte led Juventus to three straight Serie A titles before taking over as the manager of the Italian national team after the team’s disappointing performance in the 2014 World Cup. Conte said the decision not to renew his contract with the national team was a tough one to make but feels it is the right thing to do.