GIORGIO CHIELLINI admits that training with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte wouldn’t just leave you feeling tired but DEAD.
The two linked up together for Italy and Juventus – where they won the Serie A three seasons in a row.
The 33-year-old told the Daily Mail: “It is not only in the match with Conte. It is all day, every training session. He is like a police sergeant.
“We felt something very special in his atmosphere, for three years with him at Juventus and two years in the national team.”
Success didn’t come easy either, as Chiellini admits: “When you finish training, you are dead. Not tired — dead. You can do it only because you believe in what he does.
“We had 40 days in France and it was like entering another world. You are 100% with him. He creates an atmosphere, everyone gives energy to each other. For sure he is one of the very best.”
Without Conte, the Italian side slipped into disarray, failing to qualify for the World Cup this summer for the first time in over half a century.
Chiellini heaped praise on his former manager: “‘He is a fantastic coach with a fantastic mind but Italian trainers have tried to copy him without the same knowledge and then in the last 10 years, we lost our identity.”
That magic clearly worked in Conte’s first season at Chelsea, when they picked up the Premier League title.
However this term has been a totally different story, with the Blues’ recent 4-1 battering to Watford leaving many questioning if the Italian will keep his job.
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