London [UK]: Tottenham Hotspur FC on Tuesday announced the appointment of Antonio Conte as the head coach on a contract until the summer of 2023, with an option to extend. Antonio has won titles in Serie A, including a hat-trick of Scudettos with Juventus, the Premier League and also managed Italy, leading the Azzurri to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. In a statement by Spurs, Conte said: “I am extremely happy to return to coaching, and to do so at a Premier League club that has the ambition to be a protagonist again. Tottenham Hotspur has state-of-the-art facilities and one of the best stadiums in the world.” “I can’t wait to start working to convey to the team and the fans the passion, mentality and determination that have always distinguished me, as a player and as a coach. Last summer our union did not happen because the end of my relationship with Inter was still too recent and emotionally too involved with the end of the season, so I felt that it wasn’t yet the right time to return to coaching.” “But the contagious enthusiasm and determination of Daniel Levy in wanting to entrust me with this task had already hit the mark. Now that the opportunity has returned, I have chosen to take it with great conviction,” he added. Born in Lecce, Antonio began his playing career at his home-town team (1985-1991) before achieving legendary status at Juventus (1991-2004). A midfielder, he won five Scudettos with La Vecchia Signora, the UEFA Cup in 1993 and Champions League in 1996. He earned 20 caps for Italy and was part of squads that achieved runners-up status in the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000. Antonio began his coaching career as an assistant in Siena in 2005 and had spells at Arezzo, Bari – where he won Serie B – and Atalanta before returning to Juventus in 2011. He won the title in his first season, 2011/12, completing the campaign unbeaten and equalling a club record 28-match unbeaten run set by Fabio Capello. He completed a hat-trick of titles with success in 2012/13 and 2013/14, when Juve amassed a Serie A record of 102 points. Antonio took charge of the Italian national team in 2014 and led them to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, topping their group and beating Belgium and Spain along the way. After two years in charge of the Azzurri, Antonio returned to club football at Chelsea in 2016 and secured the Premier League crown in his first season, 2016/17, with a then league record of 30 wins in 38 matches, including a run of 13 straight victories. Antonio added the FA Cup to his list of honours in 2018 before moving back to Italy and Internazionale in May, 2019. Having finished second in Serie A in 2019/20, and reached the final of the Europa League, he guided Inter to their first title in 11 years in 2020/21, ending Juventus’ run of nine successive Scudettos.
