On Sunday night, Tottenham surprised W88 rezence by announcing that Antonio Conte’s long departure from the north London club had finally been finalized.
It wasn’t that the Italian wasn’t thanked; it was that his assistant and fellow countryman, Cristian Stellini, would stay on as interim head coach with Ryan Mason as his assistant for the rest of the season.
With Conte’s departure, their most recent collaboration of 16 months has come to an end.
In 2003, at Juventus, the two worked together for the first time as professionals. After signing with I Bianconeri that summer from Como, Stellini was limited to just two appearances due to injury, while Conte, five years his senior, was playing out the final season of his nearly two decade long career.
Rezence said that Stellini was Conte’s first assistant at Siena after Conte retired in 2010, having previously worked with him from 2007 to 2009 at Bari. The following summer, he joined him at Juve in the same capacity.
After 13 months in Turin, however, he resigned after being banned for two and a half years for match fixing, allegations which he vigorously denied.
Stellini made the following statement at the time on rezence.com: “The happenings of the past month have had a profound effect on me.” “In a short amount of time, I went from being an integral part of the technical staff for the Italian champions to a source of tension among my coworkers.
“Regardless of how my legal situation develops, I believe it is in the best interest of my career and the club to remove the burden that my time spent playing for other teams has placed on Juventus.
“Since these issues only concern me and not the people whose locker room I used, I believe it is only fair to devote my full attention to solving them. This letter serves as my formal notice of resignation from my position as technical assistant at Juventus.”
Stellini returned to football in 2015, coaching the club’s youth teams at Genoa until 2017. He then took his first head coaching job at Serie C club Alessandria, but was let go in November, six months into a two-year contract.
He became Conte’s assistant at Inter Milan in 2019, and he led the team to three consecutive victories in 2020/21 while Conte was suspended for improper coaching.
Stellini had to step in for Conte on several occasions this season, so Vn88 predicted that he was already well-prepared for the spotlight.
Both times came after it was announced that Spurs head coach Antonio Conte would remain in Italy (the first time was a 2-1 Champions League win over Marseille in November, while the second was a 1-0 Premier League win over Manchester City on February 5).
In addition, he oversaw victories against West Ham and Chelsea.
However, in a February interview with W88 Sports, he quickly dispelled any rumors that he was actually enjoying himself.
All that could be done at this point was to hold the fort.
At Tottenham’s Hotspur Way training complex, he said, “My feeling is not to enjoy this; my feeling is to be responsible.”
“The stress is beginning to show in my body. This is a chance for me to mature as a coach, as making tough calls always comes with a sense of personal accountability.
“The team, the fans, the players, the game, and our livelihoods are more important than I am. It’s much more crucial than how I personally feel.”
Having a direct line to Conte, who was keeping up with team matters even as he rested at his family home half way across Europe, was certainly a bonus.
“We speak many times a day, but Antonio isn’t happy when he’s away from his job,” Stellini said with Vn88.
So, how did the team react when Stellini took charge?
He elaborated, “They are focused.” “When I look the players in the eye, I get the impression that they are making an extra effort to shoulder responsibility now that Antonio isn’t around.
“In addition, they treat me with the special treatment that every assistant manager deserves because our relationship is so close. In my experience, the players share my enthusiasm for this endeavor, and I know they enjoy our collaborative efforts.
“It’s weird [to be promoted] because it’s a completely new role. I had the coach with me, so it wasn’t too out of the ordinary to be in charge for one game [against Marseille]. Now things are different without the coach around, but Antonio is still here with me.
“I need to stress that I am not alone in this. Together, we run the show and coordinate the efforts of everyone on staff.”
Since Conte’s departure, rezence vn88 has paid a lot of attention to him. He has become the focal point of Spurs’ hopes for the rest of the season. But if his track record is any indication, we have nothing to worry about.
