Stellini reveals the three Tottenham men Antonio Conte has been calling from Italy
According to Cristian Stellini, assistant head coach of Tottenham, Antonio Conte has been frequently contacting his coaching staff at the club as he returns from Italy.
Stellini believes that managing the team from a distance has been both stressful and enjoyable for Conte.
Currently, the coaching staff at Tottenham have taken on more responsibilities as Conte is situated in Turin, Italy, approximately 778 miles away, recuperating at home after undergoing emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder.
Despite being physically absent, Conte has been actively involved in the team’s operations by watching training videos daily, keeping in constant contact, and making decisions during matches.
This month, Spurs have won three out of their four Premier League games.
This has created an uncommon scenario where Antonio Conte is expected to be considered for the Manager of the Month award, despite only being physically present in the dugout for the team’s 4-1 loss to Leicester City.
“Antonio was still with us so if this happens, I am happy for him,” said Stellini. “I think this could be a great opportunity to be proud of all of the staff, not only me. We work like a team very close and very excited to work together. I think it would be a good result for all the staff.”
The Tottenham assistant coach was jokingly asked if it would be easier for Conte to return to the stands and have him in the dugout since it’s often said that a winning formula should not be altered.
“No, that is impossible because we know very well Antonio but it is also the right thing to do because I don’t want to forget that our manager was still involved during this period so nothing will change,” said the 48-year-old.
Regarding Conte’s experience of managing the team from a distance, Stellini stated: “Sometimes stressful, sometimes enjoyable. If we win you can enjoy all together. He has recovered well but in this period he has to think about his health and feeling better.”
Stellini anticipates that Conte will return to England later this week. Despite being in Italy, Conte has been actively communicating with the coaching staff, often calling them during training and matches.
Stellini previously mentioned that he speaks to Conte at night as well. During matches, the coaches are seen relaying Conte’s instructions from his phone calls. When asked about the number of calls Conte makes to him and other coaches in a day, Stellini did not provide a specific answer.
“A lot, as normal with Ryan [Mason] and Gianluca [Conte – his brother] as well, to organise everything and have everything under control,” he said.
Stellini acknowledged that not all of Conte’s video calls with the players have been perfect, particularly after Sunday’s win over Chelsea. However, the positive results that the team has been achieving are having a positive impact on Conte’s well-being.
“My feeling, we didn’t speak about this, but my feeling is that our results have created positive energy in Antonio and so when you have positive energy, you recover better. For sure, he will come back with a good energy and positive vibes,” he explained.
“Absolutely [you can feel he has missed being there]. It happened after the last game that we had a call with the team but the connection was not perfect and Antonio was really disappointed for that. The day after we tried to do it again and it was good, and his energy was much more so you can feel it.”
When asked about how his time in the spotlight, winning all seven games while standing in for Conte at both Spurs and Inter, has affected him as a coach and as a person, Stellini took a moment to think before responding.
“I don’t know what changes in the future, I hope nothing changes in the future. I want to be the same, maybe with a bit more experience and positivity with me because we did a great job,” he said.
“In the future what we have to bring with us is the team working in this period like a staff. Altogether try to do something better every day and stay together. Speak a lot and share our ideas. We have to continue this. Probably we have to bring this type of situation in the future as a staff to help Antonio do his best.”
On his role with the players, he added: “It’s about the relationship and the way we trust in the players and the way we want the players trusting us in what we ask of them. It’s a really important communication and relation in between us and the players. They trust in us, we trust in them, we create positive energy and into the pitch you can feel this.”
Tottenham will face Championship team Sheffield United in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday, aiming to progress further in the competition and win their first trophy since the 2008 League Cup. Stellini thinks that achieving success is more about actions rather than words.
“We repeat many times, we don’t have to speak about winning trophies. We have to show the desire to do facts. It is important to win games if you want to win something, but it’s about what we have to do tomorrow,” he said. “Tomorrow we have to try to win. We have to do our best to win. If someone is better than us, we accept this. We have to play a game without regrets. When the game finishes, we don’t have regrets. We have to push in the game at the best.
“But we don’t have to speak a lot about winning a trophy. If you speak too much, you leave behind you only words. We have to do something in reality, if we want to win.”
Stellini reveals the three Tottenham men Antonio Conte has been calling from Italy
