After watching his team throw away a two-goal lead with two late goals, including a 93rd minute penalty, Conte marched into the post-match press conference to deliver an all-timer, up there with Kevin Keegan’s ‘I would love it’ outburst in 1996 or Rafa Benitez’s ‘facts’ rant against Sir Alex Ferguson that was the beginning of Liverpool’s downfall in the 2009 title race.
In an extraordinary five-minute blast, Conte slammed Spurs as a club, the players, the owners (though he denies he meant to do so), Spurs’ recent history and, well, pretty much everything about the team he manages, claiming, among other things, that his players “don’t want to play under pressure, don’t want to play under stress” and cannot handle the demands of a top club.
“Tottenham’s story is this, 20 years!” Conte raged, slamming his own club and all but talking himself out of a job inside a few wild minutes of candid, furious ranting.
The blowback is expected to arrive this week when, according to multiple sources, Antonio Conte will be sacked by Spurs, his relationship with both players and the club hierarchy close to broken.
The Italian has just a few months remaining on his contract at Spurs, and the way things had been going it seemed inevitable he would walk away at the end of the season regardless. This may have been his chance to get out early and an attempt to preserve his own reputation in the process. As he put it, “I’m not used to this position!”
Truth be told, and looking away from the headlines, Conte has had a troubling season that would be tough for any person to deal with. Personal tragedy off the field, including the death of his fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone last October and personal friends such as Gianluca Vialli, have been tough to take.
Meanwhile the Italian has also had his own health issues, missing several weeks after gall bladder surgery mid-season that will no doubt also have been a challenging issue to deal with on a personal level. We sometimes tend to forget the day-to-day stresses on a manager.
All that said, the unity between Spurs and Conte has been somewhat fraught all season. After a fantastic year in which he managed to get Tottenham to pip Arsenal to the top four and Champions League football last season, this year Spurs have had to watch their biggest rivals all but cruise to the Premier League title, while Spurs languish around the top four and have crashed out of all three cup competitions, meekly at best.
A parting of the ways seems inevitable, now or in the summer.
So who next to take on this confused, downtrodden but no doubt still glamorous and attractive football club?
With their state-of-the-art stadium and brilliant, modern training facilities Tottenham Hotspur is still a hugely attractive proposal, with huge potential if the right manager can get it all to click. Here are the likely candidates…
Ryan Mason
A former Spurs player who was forced to retire early and abruptly due to a severe head injury, Ryan Mason has already acted as an interim head coach for Tottenham in 2021, after the sacking of Jose Mourinho. Mason, 31, took charge of seven games including the League Cup final, winning four games and losing three including that final to Manchester City.
Seemingly highly-rated as a coach among the hierarchy in north London, Mason could again take charge until the end of the season, allowing the club to cast their eye over more candidates ahead of the summer.
Luis Enrique
The former Spain head coach comes with an excellent managerial track record, having won the UEFA Champions League with FC Barcelona as well as two La Liga titles, three Spanish Copa Del Reys, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
The Spaniard left his national team job after a disappointing World Cup campaign ended at the hands of Morocco, and has also managed Celta Vigo and AS Roma as well as Barcelona. He is an excellent coach with interesting ideas, and comes with the added bonus of being available now, should he want the job.
Whether a top coach would be willing to take the job now remains to be seen, but Spurs are still in contention for a top four position with plenty to play for.
Mauricio Pochettino
The fans’ favourite. A romantic reunion with former manager Mauricio Pochettino appears to be the dream of most Spurs fans, the comforting nostalgia of his vibrant, energetic, exciting Spurs team of 2014-2019 still looming large in the memory.
It seems almost a trick of the mind to cast your memory back and remember that Spurs – under this same hierarchy – still went on to sack Pochettino. He asked for time and money to rebuild a squad he considered to be stagnating. But like shooting Bambi, the Argentinian was given no mercy and subsequently relieved of his duties.
Still, the dust has settled now. Pochettino loved Spurs and Spurs fans loved him. They say never go back to your ex, but a reunion could well be on the cards for the out of work manager – if not now then perhaps in the summer. Reports suggest that a line of contact has already been established.
Roberto De Zerbi
Arguably one of the managers of the season, Roberto De Zerbi has come to the Premier League and settled almost immediately, continuing the excellent work at Brighton and Hove Albion and arguably making the team as good as if not better than Graham Potter’s version.
The Italian is thought to be highly-rated by executives at several of the top Premier League clubs – indeed anyone at Brighton for more than five minutes seems to be automatically these days, a sign of how well-run the football club is. De Zerbi has implemented an attractive, modern, exciting tactical style of play and given his club a real shot at Europa League football, with an FA Cup semi-final still to come.
The question is would he seriously consider leaving Brighton after less than a year at a club that gave him his big shot in the Premier League?
Ruben Amorim
Perhaps more of an outside choice, Ruben Amorim reminded everyone of his managerial stock just last week when his Sporting CP side knocked Arsenal out of Europe.
Reportedly on Chelsea’s shortlist before they appointed Graham Potter last year, the Sporting boss is, like Mason, still in his 30s but has shown his managerial promise in Portugal already in some style, winning the Portuguese Primeira Liga title with Sporting as well as the Taça da Liga (League Cup) three times – once as manager at Braga and twice with Sporting.
Amorim’s tactical ingenuity and 3-4-3 shape could also be a good stylistic fit for the current profile of Spurs’ squad. He also comes with the bonus of having already worked with players like Pedro Porro before.
His long-term contract at Sporting and their involvement still in the Europa League quarter finals may be stumbling blocks right now, though.
Thomas Tuchel
If there’s one thing Spurs have been good at in recent years it is hiring former Chelsea managers. So why not continue that trend by appointing the out-of-work Thomas Tuchel?
There is a sense that the way he was ruthlessly booted out of Chelsea still stings Tuchel. An abrupt and unexpected exit at the hands of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, Tuchel was settled in London, loved Chelsea and appeared committed to finding solutions to their problems. He may also have felt protected by his status as a Champions League winner for the club, but this provided him with no shield in the end.
A move to Spurs would offer the bright German coach a route back to London and a chance to show Chelsea what they missed out on, but would it be the right fit?
As shown in his career to date in spells at Borussia Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea, Tuchel is no shrinking violet and is not afraid to give his views frankly to those in charge of the club. A bit like a certain Antonio Conte, you might say.