Antonio Conte’s Culture Of Unity On And Off The Pitch Soothes Chelsea Self-doubt
Rewind, briefly, to the tipping point. Antonio Conte’s initial reaction to that heavy defeat at Arsenal back in September had been one of fury. He was livid, humiliated, crushed and, in the emotional heart-to-heart he conducted with his coaching staff, he questioned himself and the task he had taken on at Chelsea. It took a while for those emotions to simmer down and rational thought to return but then, as he surveyed the scene in the away dressing room, he recognised broken players still haunted by the trauma of underachievement last season, and realised something had to change.
Now return to the present. Chelsea were rugged and resilient across the capital at Crystal Palace on Saturday and courtesy of their first headed goal of term, produced by Diego Costa just before the interval, secured a club record 11th league win in succession.
A group of players who had been torn to shreds at the Emirates Stadium have achieved nine clean sheets in that sequence. If there had been initial doubts in the demands being placed upon them by a manager who insists upon total commitment, then they have allayed. These days, this team’s players are utterly convinced in their head coach’s philosophy and methods. To latch on to one of the Italian’s buzzwords, they clearly “work”.
The celebrations conducted in front of the away support in the corner of the Arthur Wait stand were a show of unity and reflected a remarkable transformation. “To come here and take on Crystal Palace, this physical game and have the right behaviour, understand the way to win, to fight in the same way Palace do is not simple for me,” Conte said. “You can see players with great talent but also with great commitment, this will to fight for every ball. Something changed in me, in the players, in the club, with those defeats by Liverpool and at Arsenal. I like to win and to see my players have those two bad losses – we deserved two bad defeats – I had to try to find the right solutions on and outside the pitch. We had to show why we deserved to be better than last season.”
Plenty has been made of the switch in formation, instigated at the interval at Arsenal when that contest had already been surrendered. Adopting three at the back has clearly been a masterstroke, even if it was a tactical tweak Conte had been reluctant to implement. “I knew our formation [a back four] wasn’t good to face Liverpool tactically, and we paid for this,” the manager said. “Also against Arsenal. I always had the will to change it but I waited until the right moment. I had players who had only played with four [in defence]. In the [recent] history of Chelsea, they had never played with three central defenders. To change that, you have to go slowly, slowly, to put the idea across.” The adaptation, in truth, has been smoother than he could possibly have imagined. Palace, who went into the weekend as the division’s fifth‑top scorers, rarely had a sight of goal, so stifled were they in their approach.
Yet just as significant has been the atmosphere Conte has built within Chelsea to dissipate all the tension that lingered from last season’s desperate toils. He has succeeded in creating a more family-like atmosphere at the club, something akin to that generated by Carlo Ancelotti during his spell at Cobham. It was Conte who insisted the squad and coaching staff should go on relatively regular evenings out for group meals, whether at hip venues such as Nobu or at the manager’s adopted Italian eateries in town. There have been at least three such get-togethers since the limp defeat at Arsenal. As bonding exercises, they been beneficial.
Then there has been his desire to weave himself into the fabric of a club that can, at times, appear an awkward blend thrusting together a highly paid playing squad, a slickly run commercial machine and an administrative staff who can go easily forgotten. Employees from Cobham and Stamford Bridge had gathered at the stadium’s music venue Under the Bridge, situated beneath the East stand, last Thursday for their Christmas party, with Conte having pre‑recorded a video message that was to be broadcast to those present. However, at some point over the course of the day, the manager determined such an impersonal appearance would be inadequate. Instead, he arrived at the event and addressed the room, thanking everyone for the part they have played in reinvigorating this club, over a two‑hour stay.
That is only one relatively small example of a manager who sees the bigger picture – but cultivating that unity, removing all the “us and them”, is a skill. Conte had inherited a tense situation but by ensuring he is in no way aloof, he has ensured everyone feels in this together.
Now, almost three months on, all that tension after the defeat by Arsenal, when Chelsea were gripped by self-doubt, has gone. This team suddenly seem unstoppable, their conviction swollen and the manager a man inspired. A Premier League record of 14 successive wins is very realistic. Times have changed for the better.
BY THE UK GUARDIAN
