Antonio Conte explains why he considers his time at Tottenham Hotspur a success despite the way things ended for him at the North London club.
Early promise followed by disaster
There was a lot to be excited about in Conte’s first season in charge of Spurs, with the Italian taking over a side that was struggling under Nuno Espirito Santo and converting them into one of the most feared teams in the Premier League.
Tottenham were ruthlessly efficient towards the latter part of the 2021-22 season as they clawed their way back to seal Champions League qualification at the expense of their North London rivals.
However, following a relatively decent start to the 2022-23 season, the wheels came off spectacularly for Spurs, with the Italian parting ways with the club in March of 2023.
Antonio Conte addresses Tottenham spell
Despite what happened in his second season with the Lilywhites, Conte has insisted that he did well during his time at N17.
The 55-year-old pointed out that he guided Spurs to an unlikely top-four finish in his first season, adding that he cannot do any miracles.
Speaking after Napoli’s big win over AC Milan, Conte told DAZN (as relayed by Fabrizio Romano): “I think I did very, very well at Spurs. I arrived with the squad in 9th position and we qualified for the Champions League. I’m sure I did the best job possible for Tottenham. I can’t do miracles.”
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Conte failed at Tottenham
While people will disagree about why the wheels came off for Conte at Spurs, there is no doubt that objectively, the 55-year-old failed at the club, who eventually finished in eighth place in the 202e-23 season.
His early success at Napoli should not make people re-write the history of what happened at Tottenham. The reality is that the quality of managers in the Premier League is incredibly high when compared to the Serie A.
The Italian’s system was worked out by the opposition sides and he was unable to adapt and turn things around, which is why he has not been linked with any top English job since his departure from Spurs.