Antonio Conte – Tactical Genius?

Antonio Conte has received plenty of plaudits for his decision to change his tactical approach at Chelsea. Three wins out of three, nine points and three clean sheets have followed. Is he a tactical genius?

I have read a number of articles on Antonio Conte and have listened to plenty of opinion on his approach to the game. Plenty have talked about the demands he puts on his players and his performance on the touchline throughout the ninety minutes of football played out in front of him, but the victory over the Special One last weekend at Stamford Bridge has really made people sit up and take notice.

Pep Guardiola in his book has named Antonio Conte as one of two master tacticians of the game with the other being Thomas Tuchel of Borussia Dortmund. He has stated back in 2015 that Conte was one of the best emerging coaches in the world and that this season, he can challenge for the title as one of his biggest rivals in the Premier League:

'Football is always changing and we have to adapt to that. Constant evolution. Look at Conte's Italy. They used positional play. Imagine that! Italy playing positionally!

'A very different kind of game from how I employed it. And I really admire Conte for it.' - Daily Mail. 

Just a week ago as the TV pundits talked of Conte and previewed the return of Jose Mourinho to Stamford Bridge, there was talk of the different approach of Antonio Conte to that of Louis Van Gaal for example. Much was made of Van Gaal’s decision to walk into Old Trafford and state that he will adopt a certain formation from the beginning, to mould his players into the way he wanted to play. We all know the struggles he had as a result.

Compare that to the approach of Antonio Conte this season and you will see a vast difference. Despite knowing his preferred approach is to utilise three at the back, he decided to wait and to look at the current squad playing in their preferred formation of recent seasons. After making a good start, there was still a worry of conceding too many goals which eventually became exposed against Liverpool and Arsenal.

It was only then, having had the time to get to know his players, to learn what they are capable of and to find a solution that would work for both he and them, that he made the tactical switch and despite the West Ham game (seven first team changes) the performances and results have been outstanding.

The team over at Betway has also had their say on both sides of the argument here as below:

What are your thoughts? Why not view the video and leave your comments on the blog.betway.com‘s Youtube page and you could win a free £10 wager.