‘Italy is in my heart’ – Conte refuses to rule out eventual Serie A return amid Spurs uncertainty
Antonio Conte has admitted that he cannot rule out a return to the Serie A in the future, remarking that Italian football remains close to his heart. Conte returned to Italy for a competitive fixture for the first time since taking over at Tottenham over 15 months ago, with Milan running out 1-0 winners at […]
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Antonio Conte has admitted that he cannot rule out a return to the Serie A in the future, remarking that Italian football remains close to his heart.
Conte returned to Italy for a competitive fixture for the first time since taking over at Tottenham over 15 months ago, with Milan running out 1-0 winners at the San Siro yesterday.
(Photo by Sportinfoto/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
That was Spurs’ fifth defeat in 11 matches across all competitions since the restart and leaves the Lilywhites with plenty of work to do to make it through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
The team’s poor run of form has led to some questions about Conte’s future at the North London club (Daily Mail), with the Italian’s current contract running out at the end of the season.
Some sources have suggested over recent weeks that the 53-year-old wants to return to Italy at the end of the season in order to be closer to his family (The Sun’s Martin Lipton – Off The Ball).
The Tottenham head coach certainly did not play down the possibility of him eventually returning to the Serie A following his side’s loss yesterday, although he was keen to point out that his mind remains ‘in the present’.
When asked about being back in the San Siro and about the possibility of returning to Italy, Conte told Football.London: “Playing here in the San Siro as a player and manager is special, is unique.
“The San Siro is a historical stadium, it’s a beautiful one, it is always packed with people, it is full, and I love the fact whether it is Milan or Inter, the stadium is always crowded.
“It is very good for Milan and the stadium. I am pleased for both groups of fans. Today this beautiful setting was playing against us, the Milan supporters were singing all the time and it is evident they were the 12th man tonight, this will be helpful with us when we play the second leg.
“I prefer to live in the present, I don’t want to think about the future but you perfectly know that as an Italian man and the former Italy manager, Italy is in my heart and Italy will always stay there. I will never exclude the possibility that I will be back here one day, who knows.”
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To be fair to Conte, this is far from a confirmation that he wants to return to Italy in the summer. He is merely suggesting that the possibility of doing so sometime in the future cannot be ruled out.
However, the uncertainty over his future at Spurs and his refusal to commit are seemingly not helping the players at the moment.
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The post ‘Italy is in my heart’ – Conte refuses to rule out eventual Serie A return amid Spurs uncertainty appeared first on Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.