Why was Antonio Conte sacked by Chelsea?
In his 2 years with Chelsea, Antonio Conte won the Premier League in 2016/17 and clinched the FA Cup the next year. Still, he was sacked by the management. Things were so sour between him and the management that he was given a 52-word statement about his departure and no words of thanks. But where did it all go wrong? Here we decode!
65% win rate as Chelsea boss
Conte has a commendable record at Chelsea. Out of the 106 games he was, in charge, he won 70, drew 15 and lost just 21 matches, that's a 65% win-rate. Only Mourinho with 67% success had a better record as Chelsea boss (100+ games). Conte averages 2.14 points per EPL fixture, only Sir Ferguson with 2.16 and Guardiola with 2.34 boast a better record.
First manager to win 30 EPL games yet sacked
Since taking over Chelsea, Conte became the first manager in history to complete a league double over Pep Guardiola. He also was the first manager to win 30 Premier League games in a single season and also beat Jose Mourinho in an English domestic cup final. But why did Chelsea fire a manager who has such a remarkable record?
Failure to secure Champions League football
Chelsea's title defense ended in shambles. They finished 5th in the league last season- 30 points behind reigning champions Manchester City. To make matters worse, Chelsea failed to secure Champions League football. The FA Cup title salvaged Chelsea's miserable season but that was never going to save Conte's job as things had turned far worse by then.
The Diego Costa saga
Costa might be a trouble maker but there is no doubt about the striker's ability in the final third. Costa was crucial in Chelsea's title triumph, the earlier season, but when the summer began, Conte sent out a text to Costa that he was no more in his plans. Costa never turned up for training and they had to sell him- a horrible mistake.
Breakdown of his relationship with the management
After Conte won the Premier League title, he wanted complete control on the transfers at the club. However, Chelsea failed to land his transfer targets, either because they were too expensive or they couldn't lure them to Stamford Bridge to play under Conte. The coach started hitting out at the management openly during press conferences and cracks started to begin in the relationship.
Freezing out key players
Conte was quite harsh on the players. David Luiz, a player whom he had signed in his first season and had played a crucial role in Chelsea's title triumph, was kept out of the match-day squad the next season. This was after David Luiz played one bad game. All this and the hiring and firing mentality of the Blues led to his sacking.
