After Antonio Conte's Italy completed their final preparatory match ahead of Euro 2016 which was a straightforward 2-0 win over Finland with Chelsea-linked Antonio Candreva scoring one and assisting the other, the incoming Chelsea manager talked a bit about his tactics and strategies for the national team.
Obviously, this doesn't necessarily apply to Chelsea (one of Conte's strengths is his adaptability), but perhaps we can still glean a few ideas of what may lay in store for us once he takes over in Cobham after the Euros.
"I do everything except counter-attacks. I do not play on the counter. I never even train counter-attacks. It is not in my concept of football. When we have the ball, we have our ideas. When we lose the ball, we try to be tight, press the opposition and try to win it back as soon as possible."
"Against Belgium we will have our say. Do not expect defence and counter in that game, because it is simply not part of how I view football. Counter-attacks are when you sit back and then propel yourself forward at pace. We've got players who can do that, like Ciro Immobile, Simone Zaza and others, but in my idea of football we want to play the game and use the ball. If we lose possession, we have to be aggressive and win it back in their half, as that'll make it easier for us to close on their goal."
"We are working on those concepts, today we met a side that again tried to not play. Even when they went 1-0 down, they didn't change their approach. With all due respect, evidently we are doing something right if the opposition sit back in their own half and wait for us."
The key takeaway is maybe the emphasis on gaining, retaining, and using possession, as opposed to a more reactive gameplan of sitting back, winning possession deep, and countering in-behind the defense. Chelsea have employed both strategies in recent seasons; we'll see what Conte cooks up for us.
Source: Football Italia
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