Antonio Conte criticised by Antonio Cassano for his European record amid Tottenham Hotspur struggle
Talking to Bobo TV as relayed by Italian publication Calciomercato (h/t Express), former Italy striker Antonio Cassano has criticised Antonio Conte‘s tactics at Tottenham Hotspur and went on to say that new Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi is already surpassing him.
Conte has had a mixed start to life with the north London club since he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo earlier this month. Spurs were embarrassed midweek after they lost to Slovenian minnows NS Mura– the lowest-ranked team in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Their embarrassing loss in Europe has left their hopes of progressing into the knockout stages of the tournament hanging by a thread. The pressure is on the Italian to fix the issue in the squad as soon as possible.
Talking about his record of late in Europe, former Italy international Antonio Cassano feels that Conte has been pretty average and Inter’s current coach has surpassed him already.
“Conte spent two years in a bloodbath in the Champions League, playing very badly. Inzaghi, on the other hand, is in line with the league this year and has deservedly gone ahead in the Champions League with beautiful football and by pressing.”
“(That’s) something Conte has never done; he only gets in front of the goal line.”
Conte’s challenge at Tottenham Hotspur
Conte, after the defeat, has already said that it is going to be a hard job to fix things at the club, and he is not wrong in saying that. Spurs’ squad has been underperforming for quite a while now, arguably in most areas on the pitch.
Harry Kane was once seen as the man to help the Spurs cause for winning their first trophy since 2008, but since his failed move to Manchester City in the summer, the striker hasn’t been the same when it comes to scoring goals in the Premier League.
When it comes to defenders, new signings like Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal have failed to make an impact and have struggled domestically and in Europe. Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez have also looked shaky on a number of occasions, with the latter having a game to forget against Mura.
More Tottenham Hotspur News
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One must understand that changes cannot happen instantly. Maybe Inzaghi is having a purple patch in Italy before Inter’s form falls off, and maybe Conte is just taking a bit of time to implement his philosophy at N17. Or perhaps, Cassano just doesn’t like the fact that Conte ditched Serie A’s topmost club, at least last season, for some time in the sun with us.
