World Soccer Presents - The Prem Era #2 (2022)

32 THE PREM ERA

used to play atuttocampo[all over

the pitch]. He wasn’t one of those

midfielders who played in front of

his defence and who would read

the situation.

“He wasn’t born a coach but he

became one thanks to the way he

played, thanks to the difficulties he

had on the field. Even though he was

one of those players who made the

difference, inspired his team and

often scored goals, he was not

hugely gifted technically.

“As a player, he would often find

himself in a tight corner and he would

have to dig himself out, and I think that

one of his great strengths as a coach is

to create a game plan that always leaves

his players with plenty of options which

will compensate for any shortcomings in

technique. That’s a situation he himself

was familiar with.”

And Marocchi is not surprised by

Conte’s motivational powers, saying:

“As a player, he was like that too, he

was an intense, inspirational force,

he always gave everything.”

Curiously, Marocchi also believes

that Conte has one important advantage

over many of his ultra-exclusive peer

group, men such asJose Mourinho,

Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Mancini.

“He is a terrific fitness coach,” reveals

Marocchi. “He does not leave that to his

staff, he does that himself because

he has a great understanding of what

individual players do or do not need

to do in training, he’s studied athletic

preparation. And you need to remember

that his training can be very intense but

he decides everything, in terms of both

quantity and quality.

“On top of that, it has surprised me

that he has become such a good coach

from the tactical viewpoint. I would

never have had doubts about his

commitment, his determination,

his desire to get to the very top but

tactically, he is much, much better

as a coach than he was as a player.”

This astuteness as a top tactician is

exemplified by how his implementation

of a back three at Chelsea, not regularly

seen in the Premier League before his

arrival, started to set a trend. InWorld

Soccer’s 2016 Winter issue,Jonathan

Wilson highlighted: “Conte has long

been a devotee of the back three

[and] playing three at the back has

spread with extraordinary speed since he

reacted to his side’s defeat at Arsenal by

returning to the shape he had favoured

withJuventus and Italy. Chelsea,

Manchester City, Everton, Tottenham

Hotspur...the list of teams who have

played with a back three at some point

this season is long, varied and growing.”

Looking closely at his old team-mate,

Marocchi says that there must now be

only a “50-50” chance that he will stay

at Chelsea. He reckons that the “Trullo”

might just decide that one fabulous,

title-winning season represents the

perfect moment to end his Premier

League experience.

While that remains to be seen,

Marocchi does make an intriguing

observation about the impact of having

played in an excellent Lippi-coached

Juventus, pointing out: “I have forgotten

many of the games we played together,

but I remember the1996 Champions

When discussing Conte the coach,

Italians often refer to his eat-sleep-drink,

manic obsession with his work

Serie A champion...

Juventus players

joyously celebrate

the 2013-14 title

with their coach