An in-depth look into Antonio Conte's storied career after a historic feat
- Christian Paris
- May 30
- 7 min read
One season. Maybe two. That’s all it ever takes for Antonio Conte to deliver. Pretty much wherever he has gone that has been the case, even a serial winner like the Italian was thwarted by what was until recently the Tottenham trophy curse.
A return to Italy to manage the fourth side in Serie A in his illustrious career was an ever-typically challenging one for Conte, who this time arrived in Naples to follow a troubling 23/24 campaign as Italian champions.
It did in fact pose the thrilling challenge of becoming the first manager in Serie A history to win the Scudetto with three different teams (well...officially, if we are not counting Fabio Capello).
Luciano Spalletti stylishly returned Napoli to the perch of Italian football in 2023 for the first time in 33 years, going back to the glory days and Diego Maradona, though Spalletti after two seasons called it a day as champion, leaving the hot seat vacant for the returning Walter Mazarri to fill.
It did not even get the chance to go to bad, it went straight to worse. Napoli lumbered to a worrying tenth-placed finish in 23/24, and by February the notoriously ruthless club president Aurelio de Laurentiis saw fit to sack Mazarri, with Francesco Calzona taking over as caretaker for the remaining months of the season.
By the summer of 2024, it was perfect timing for both parties. Napoli needed a proven winner, Conte had a year out of management following a testing spell in North London, whilst he was ready to jump back on the saddle in Italy’s topflight.
Conte’s intensity and efficient track record, and his fierce nature on the touchline had seen him become one of the renowned coaches in all of Europe, though few are aware of where he began.
His first managerial role came in Tuscany with Arezzo in Serie B, though a brief spell saw the Lecce-born Conte move closer to home for his second job, with Bari, thus began the infamous Conte trend.
Arriving in the January of 2008, midway through the 07/08 campaign, Conte immediately stamped his mark, losing just six games from the remaining 22 fixtures in Serie B to steer Bari to an 11th place finish.
It was the year after meanwhile that saw Conte begin to make noise in Italy, winning the second division in his first full season and returning Bari to Serie A for the first time in nine years, job done for Conte. Onto the next.
A difficult stint at Atalanta in the 09/10 season ended that story rather abruptly, before taking on his next quest, and returning to the side where it all truly began for Conte.
Back at AC Siena, the place where he grew into management as assistant to Luigi De Canio for the 05/06 season, where he was able to sample a taste of what it would take to man the dugout in Italy’s topflight.
Though this time he was there with his own, entirely unique style as the main man, and it ended in true Conte fashion. There for just the 10/11 campaign, Conte had joined a side who had just been relegated after seven consecutive seasons in Serie A, which as we are gathering, has been quite the appeal for Conte to take on.
He immediately wasted no time. Conte at this stage I imagine already felt like he was one of the best in the game, and he did not hesitate to prove that. Straight back up Siena went, in a flash, finishing second was more than enough to return the Tuscan side to Serie A, and again, that was enough for Conte.
It was though time to take the step up. Conte had proven his almost freakish capacity to revive struggling teams and produce memorable seasons, but his spell at Atalanta in Serie A was his only experience in the topflight, and not a great one.
His ability to spearhead Siena’s immediate resurgence was enough for Juventus to come knocking meanwhile, and there was his opportunity, the Bianconeri however weren’t exactly thriving at the time, though Conte continued to relish in struggle.
La Vecchia Signora had gone without a Scudetto (officially), since the 02/03 season, and were still reeling off the back of the infamous Calciopoli scandal which had seen their successive Scudetto titles stripped away from 2004-2006.
Punished with relegation to Serie B, Juventus recovered swiftly with a return to the topflight, though stumbled with aspirations of reclaiming the crown no other side had won more than them.
Four consecutive seasons followed without a title, including two successive seventh-place finishes, the Italian giant needed a spark. Conte did not need to be told twice.
Nobody expected what was to come next. Conte led his Juventus side to an invincible Scudetto. The first ever side to do so in the 38-game format. Talk about impact. Conte had arrived.
It’s important to note it was done largely with a veteran squad. The likes of Gianluigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero had seen their loyalty during Calciopoli rewarded, as well as Giorgio Chiellini who was in his peak years. Now regarded as legends in Italy, Andrea Pirlo, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci were instrumental.
Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio were the engine of a mature side, whilst an established frontline that included Fabio Quagliarella and Luca Toni helped secure a historic first Scudetto for Conte, and a first in six years for Juve.
It sounds crazy to point out Conte’s time in Turin was the longest he has ever stayed at a club in his career. He was only there for three seasons by the way. Though he will struggle to match the success that came in that period.
The nucleus of his squad largely remained the same for the following triumph the next season, whilst the final Scudetto in Conte’s three-peat was equally as historic as the first. Unbeaten? Done that, his Juventus side went on to break the record for most points (102) and wins (33) in a Serie A campaign.
Conte was smart to retain the experienced core of the squad, though adding a young Paul Pogba to a dominant midfield, and the seasoned pair of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente up top. That title was a true testament to Conte’s brilliance, and at last marked the end of a supreme period at the summit of Serie A – which to add, went on for another six years under Massimiliano Allegri.
A disappointing two-year stint with the Italian national side was followed by terrific one at Chelsea, with his first venture into English football ending with a Premier League title to add to the resume. Not bad.
Despite it ending with a sour taste in West London, Conte still impressed, returning to Italy in 2019 take on the challenge of another giant, Inter Milan ironically were one of the victims of Juventus’ domestic dominance that Conte had started. He wanted that to end by his hand.
Without a Scudetto since 2010 under Jose Mourinho, it was another obstacle for Conte to overcome in his daring career, and after finishing runner-up to his old side in his first season in Milan, his Neroazzurri topped the table in 20/21, becoming the first side to win the league other than Juventus since AC Milan in 2011.
He conquered that battle. Onto the next, as it always has been for Conte. He then returned to London, this time with Tottenham to join a team who were on the backfoot after departing with Mauricio Pochettino. Conte got them into the Champions League with a solid fourth-place finish in his first season, though the Italian was arguably harshly dismissed the following campaign, despite having Spurs in the top four with ten games to play.
A clearly needed break for Conte was taken at once. A year out of management had been a long time coming, though it was another troubled situation that caught his attention in the summer of 2024.
Napoli had slumped to tenth in Serie A in 23/24 as the reigning Scudetto holders, making it their lowest finish since the 08/09 campaign, and the lowest by an Italian league champion since AC Milan finished 16th in the 1981/82 season.
It also matched the lowest ever finish in the 21st century by a Scudetto holder. Milan did the same in 99/00, whilst it meant Conte had another challenge to surmount.
Immediate change in personnel was needed. In came Romelu Lukaku to reunite with his old boss from their time at Inter, along with Alessandro Buongiorno, David Neres, and Scottish pair Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay. Some tune Conte got out of the latter.
Conte and co faced a stern task to surpass a dominant Inter side who had stormed Serie A the season prior, meanwhile the losses of Victor Oshimen, Piotr Zielinski (to INTER!), and Kvicha Kvaratskelia in January had critics licking their lips at the possibility of another difficult campaign.
They did, however, forget the man at the forefront. Conte always won in Italy, and whilst this time there was a more brutish and robust nature to this Napoli side than the one under Spalletti, it was equally as effective. Conte did it again.
Edging out Inter on the final day, who in fairness had to contend with runs in the Coppa Italia and the Champions League during the final stretch of the season, etched another group of players into the history books. A fourth Scudetto title, nudged them ahead of AS Roma all-time, but more importantly, would make each individual in that squad remembered eternally in a city that does not forget.
For Conte, it was equally as historic. The first manager in Italian football history to win the Scudetto with three different sides has put him well in the conversation for the greatest Serie
A manager ever. Despite all the madness that followed, all the joy and delight, noise has already started to speculate surrounding his future.
He had never been one to stick around much. Conte has always done the business wherever he has gone and went on searching for his next test. If he is one thing its unpredictable, but his ability to deliver time and time again cannot be questioned. His career tells the story.
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