Tottenham: Details of the reasons for Antonio Conte’s departure
Tottenham Hotspur’s manager, Antonio Conte, has left the club by mutual consent after 16 months in charge. The team is currently fourth in the top flight but is out of all cup competitions.
Cristian Stellini, Conte’s assistant, will take over as head coach for the rest of the season, with Ryan Mason as his deputy. Tottenham’s chairman, Daniel Levy, has called on everyone to pull together to ensure the highest possible finish for the club and its supporters.
Conte’s departure means that Spurs are searching for their fourth permanent manager in four years since Mauricio Pochettino left in 2019. They suffered a tame exit to AC Milan in the Champions League earlier in March, after Championship side Sheffield United knocked them out of the FA Cup at the start of the month.
Italian Conte, who had won league titles with former clubs Chelsea, Juventus and Inter Milan, was appointed in November 2021 after Spurs sacked Nuno Espirito Santo. They struggled for consistency for much of his early tenure before a six-game unbeaten run secured a top four finish.
However, Tottenham’s troubles have continued this season with nine defeats and four draws in 28 league games and questions about the playing style.
Conte’s Spurs were loudly booed after the 0-0 draw against Milan which resulted in a 1-0 loss on aggregate and condemned the club to another campaign without a trophy.
His last match in charge saw Tottenham throw away a 3-1 lead to draw at struggling Southampton on 18 March, with Conte launching a furious criticism of his players and the club after the match.
Tottenham have won one trophy since the ownership group chaired by Levy took over the club in 2001 – the League Cup in 2008 – and have had 11 different managers. This season has also seen Conte requiring gallbladder surgery in February.
He was absent for a victory over Manchester City on 5 February and, after briefly returning for two matches, missed another four games to focus on his recovery in Italy, with Stellini taking charge in his place.
Three close friends of Conte’s, Spurs fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Gianluca Vialli, have all died in recent months, which also weighed mentally on the Italian.
