Interviewed before or after a game Antonio Conte seems to be fully in control of his faculties.
However, as soon as the ball hits the back-of-the-net all that pent-up passion comes to the surface, something akin to Mount Etna erupting.
Yesterday against Stoke City, at the Bet365 Stadium was the perfect example.
The minute Gary Cahill smashed the ball into the net Conte was like a whirling dervish swinging manically from the roof of the dug-out, in scenes which have surely never been seen before.
But it is his behaviour of that nature that endears the Italian to us all, it shows, like us, he cares.
After the game, when interviewed by the press and with that passion back under control, Conte had this to say about the game, commenting,
‘I am pleased because to play Stoke at this point of the season, you have to be prepared mentally and physically. For this reason, we won today. It was a tough game, we tried to play football and deserved to win. We faced a really good team.
‘I am pleased for Gary Cahill because we conceded a penalty after a little push from him. To score the winning goal is great for him and our team.
‘Diego Costa played very well and showed great discipline. It is not easy to start the game with a yellow card and then to stay calm. Diego is showing me a great will to think and fight for the team. I want to continue this way.
‘We need to take 21 points for the title win. There are 10 games to go, today was a great win, a good signal but it is important to continue with the same commitment and work rate as a team.”
And when pressed on whether the title is now Chelsea`s to lose, he responded,
‘To have a 10 points gap, 13 at the moment, but I like to think our opponents will win tomorrow. We have to look at ourselves. We are happy. We must be ready to fight, today we were ready.’
The fight goes on until the title is ours you suspect, but what a wonderful guy to have in control of our club.
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