As told in Conte’s book “Testa, Cuore e Gambe”, co-written with Antonio Di Rosa published by Rizzoli.
Because the chapter on Ancelotti is fairly short (and filled with not so many positive events) I combined it with the following one on Lippi’s return. In these two chapters, we meet Ancelotti, reminisce about one of the best Italy teams of my lifetime, learn about the (beginning) of the (supposed) Conte/Del Piero feud and get an incredible story that proves Gianni Agnelli is the real life James Bond.
After Lippi abruptly resigned, rather than going with an interim coach, Juve decided to hire Carletto Ancelotti, whom Conte was familiar with since he was on Sacchi’s staff during the 1994 World Cup. Conte described Ancelotti’s approach to coaching as calm, fair and being a big brother to his players- which to me seems radically different than what we have seen from Conte in the last two seasons.
Conte more than lived up to his role as team captain during Ancelotti’s first training session as Juve coach, since he felt it was important to go to the training ground together, to show his teammates he supported the new coach. Some of Conte’s favorite teammates were sold around this time- Peruzzi, Dino Baggio and third string GK Marchioro whom Conte describes as one of the teammates he ever spent time with outside of the team functions. During Ancelotti’s time at Juve the team did not win any scudetti, it also suffered one of the worst losses of it’s recent history in Perugia (a match that was also describes in great detail in Del Piero’s book “Gochiamo Ancora) in a match that cost Juve a league title. Conte seems to genuinely like Ancelotti- even telling him after Juve lost to his Milan in the Champions League final in Manchester that if he had to lose he at least was glad it was to Ancelotti . I would imagine one of the reasons Conte praises Ancelotti so much in the book, is because Conte did not have a particularly good relationship with Lippi whom managed Juve before and after Ancelotti’s two year stay in Turin (Conte however clearly respects Lippi’s ability as a coach, and is very complimentary of him through out the book).
In the chapter on Ancelotti, Conte also describes the 2000 Euro which was played in Holland and Belgium. Juve legend Dino Zoff was the Azzurri coach, Conte describes him as similar to Trapattoni in style. To the surprise of many, Italy made it all the way to final in the tournament in large part thanks to the strength of it’s defense: GK Toldo, who replaced an injured Buffon and was a hero for stopping numerous penalty kicks in the later stages of the tournament, and the backline of Zambrotta/Nesta/Cannavaro/Maldini. Conte played well in those Euros prior to suffering a serious injury in the quarterfinal match against Romania on a hard foul from legendary player Hagi. Conte describes holding a grudge against Hagi for quite some refusing his excuses after the match, but ultimately forgiving him once Hagi invited him to come play in his farewell match (which Conte was not able to attend due to a Serie A match). Despite no longer being able to play, Conte not only remained with the team, but was also able to contribute to Italy’s win on penalty kicks against Holland in the semifinals (an incredible match) by telling Zoff to pick Pessotto as one of the kickers in the penalty shootout. Conte describes telling Zoff that Pessotto had ice in his veins, and encouraging his Juve teammate to avoid making him look bad by missing the penalty (Pessotto would score).
I was very interested to see if Conte would bring up Del Piero’s key miss in the final match against France. He didn’t, which I thought was a nice touch, but did mention the irony of Trezeguet, who would join Juve just a few weeks later, scoring France’s winning goal. I personally still remember that Euro like it was yesterday, Conte’s detailed descriptions of those matches brought back so many great memories. Conte mentions how when people tell him he has won a lot in his career, he is usually quick to point out that he has lost back to back World Cup and Euro finals on penalty kicks as well as 3 Champions League finals. Conte believes these losses have been great motivators through out his career.
While Ancelotti was able to collect an impressive 144 points at Juve in two season, the “Vincere non e’ tutto, ma e’ l’unica cosa che conta” motto ensured he would be replaced by his predecessor Marcello Lippi. Two very significant events that give us insight into Conte’s future occurred in this chapter- Conte losing the captain’s armband to Del Piero and his decision to take a short term contract extension.
If you have been reading my articles for awhile, you know how sensitive I am to the fact Del Piero did not end his career at Juve. While I do think he bares some responsibility for it happening, I am convinced Conte and Del Piero had become mutually exclusive at the end of last season, which is different than saying I hold Conte responsible (which many in Padova, Del Piero’s hometown and where I also grew up, believe is the case). So because I am biased I will give you a word for word translation of what Conte writes about Del Piero becoming Juve’s team captain, and you can decide.
“There is one thing that I have a hard time dealing with. The captain’ armband is taken away from me to give it to Del Piero. It’s a shame. I would have liked to be the one to make this historical passing of the torch, rather than having to just accept it“- from Testa, Cuore e Gambe published by Rizzoli translated by David Amoyal
Now my gut tells me, this is episode is not enough to be enough for Conte not trying harder to ensure Del Piero finished his playing career at Juve, especially since Conte is blaming Lippi for the manner in which it happened, but I do find it relevant. We will find out more in the chapter on how Conte managed Del Piero as a coach.
Recently we have been reading a lot about Conte not fully committing to remaining at Juve long term. While at first I believe this was a strategy to get a higher salary from Andrea Agnelli, I changed my mind after reading a passage in this chapter. Conte describes a contract renewal negotiotions where Moggi offered him a 3 year deal with the highest salary of his career. Conte asked for only the first two years to be guaranteed, and to have the 3rd season as an option, as he wanted to ensure he would still be motivated by being at Juve at that point. Moggi was dumbfounded by fact Conte did not want the security of a long term deal in the final stage of his playing days, but if we take Conte at his word, he is showing us money isn’t his biggest motivator to him (the decision to have the 3rd season as an option would later come back to haunt Conte).
In the chapter, Conte also describes Zidane being sold (something many fans were disappointed by) and the acquisitions of Thuram- who is described as the ideal defender thanks to his strength, speed, technical and intelligent- and Nedved whom Conte describes as one of the hardest working players he encountered. The description of Nedved’s dedication in training sessions, made me think of how often Conte the coach decides his lineups based on how his player perform in practice.
My favorite part of the book so far, was a story Conte shared about Gianni “L’Avvocato” Agnelli. After a game against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico right before the winter break, Conte decided to go out all night with a close friend, they were going to return to their hometown Lecce the following morning. Conte returned to his hotel room in Rome at 5 in the morning, only to be awaken by a phone call from Gianni Agnelli less than two hours later to ask him about the disappointing draw against Roma the day before. Conte still wonders how Agnelli was able to find him that morning considering he wasn’t staying at the team hotel since the winter break had officially just started.