Antonio Conte's Recipe for Failure in the Champions League

Antonio Conte's journey in the UEFA Champions League has come to an end after Napoli lost 2-3 to Chelsea in the final match of the group stage. For a coach of Conte's caliber, this failure is relatively common. While he has achieved success on the domestic front, Conte has never been able to make a significant impact in Europe. There are at least several reasons why Conte seems destined to struggle in mastering European competitions.

The failure to save Napoli, the defending champion of Serie A, from the knockout stage adds to Conte's dismal record in the Champions League. He ranks among the top five coaches with the most failures in advancing teams to the knockout stage since the 2012-2013 season. So far, Conte has failed to progress to the knockout stage four times out of a total of seven appearances in different seasons.

Conte ranks alongside Jorge Jesus (Portugal) at the top of the list of coaches who have most frequently failed to lead their teams to the knockout stage, with five occurrences. In seven seasons of appearances in the Champions League, Conte's best achievement was reaching the quarter-finals with Juventus in the 2012-2013 season.

He has the mentality for long competitions, not knockout football.

Conte's statistics in the Champions League are not as impressive compared to other competitions. In the Champions League, teams coached by Conte have conceded more goals, scored fewer goals, and have a lower points per match ratio. Yet, Conte is highly respected in Italy. To date, Conte has won the Serie A title five times with Juventus (three times), Napoli, and Inter Milan.

Not only in Italy, but the name Conte is still revered among Chelsea fans. He is the last coach capable of delivering the Premier League title to the West London club in 2017. While he excelled in the domestic league, Conte has struggled to replicate his impressive performance each time he appeared on the European stage.

There are at least several reasons why Conte seems destined not to succeed in Europe. An interesting opinion was expressed by Italian football expert Stefano Buonfino. According to him, Conte is not the typical coach with a European or modern style.

"He has a mentality for long-term competition, not knockout football. In Serie A, Conte can manage and leverage pressure. He has a strong mentality and works hard on the players' mentality throughout the season, where mistakes are easier to rectify. In the Champions League, Conte seems to lose all his strength," said Buonfino.

Buonfino's opinion is reinforced by the fact that Conte has more frequently won domestic league trophies compared to tournaments that use a knockout system such as the Coppa Italia or the league cup. Conte has won a total of six league titles, one of which was achieved in England and the remaining five in Italy.

Throughout his coaching career, Conte has only won one FA Cup while managing Chelsea. He has not recorded any victories in the Coppa Italia.

However, Conte has won the Supercoppa Italiana twice, a tournament that brings together the champions of Serie A and the Coppa Italia. These two early-season trophies were won by Conte while he was still managing Juventus and Napoli. The number of trophies in his collection strengthens Buonfino's argument that Conte is indeed a league specialist who plays more matches compared to knockout tournament formats.

When he was still actively playing, Conte was deeply ingrained in the DNA of Juventus. As is well known, Juventus is the king of Serie A, the most successful club with 36 titles, but the last time they won the Champions League was 20 years ago.

Juventus has reached the Champions League final nine times, but they have only succeeded in winning on two occasions, namely in 1985 and 1996.

Suffering more defeats in the finals has affected Juventus's perspective on the Champions League. Some supporters, and even the players themselves, feel that there is a curse every time they participate in the most prestigious European club competition.

The DNA of Juventus is very likely ingrained in Conte since his playing days until now as he coaches the club, thus influencing his subconscious every time he competes in the Champions League. This theory can certainly be disputed, but the reality is that Conte's achievements are linear with Juventus, which has been able to achieve much success in the league but has struggled in Europe.

Another recipe for failure for Conte is related to his choice to coach a club that did not participate in the Champions League the previous season. In Conte's first season managing Napoli, the team did not play in the Champions League due to finishing in 10th place the previous season. After Conte took over the coaching position, he led Napoli to win the Serie A, thus earning the right to compete in the Champions League the following season.

From there, the problem began; Napoli, which had previously not participated in European competitions at all, suddenly appeared in the Champions League. When a team shifts from focusing solely on domestic competitions to also engaging in European club competitions, the schedule that Conte has to manage becomes increasingly burdensome.

The managerial ability of a coach is greatly tested during busy schedules. Therefore, coaches usually request additional resources for player acquisitions when their team is confirmed to participate in up to three competitions in a single season.

Conte did this at Napoli this season. Unfortunately, the impact on the Napoli players is very much beyond Conte's control, as evidenced by the numerous injuries. In the match against Chelsea, Conte lost creative midfielder Kevin de Bruyne and Billy Gilmour. Napoli fought well, but Chelsea, with the luxury of their squad, managed to emerge as the winner.

The pattern experienced by Conte was not only encountered at Napoli but also at Juventus. In his first season at Juventus, Conte was not burdened by a busy schedule in Europe. He was practically focused solely on the league.

After leading Juventus to the Serie A title, Conte struggled to compete in the Champions League in his second season. Moreover, Juventus at that time had to face Bayern Munich, managed by Jupp Heynckes, who ultimately won the treble in a single season.

Similarly, when he first took charge of Chelsea, Conte was not involved in the Champions League during his first season. This was because Chelsea only finished in 13th place just before Conte took over. From this pattern, it can be seen that Conte did not enjoy many minutes in the Champions League. Moreover, he spent two years managing the Italian national team.

This fact is reinforced by Conte's tendency to ask his players to play at a high intensity almost throughout the match. The training implemented by Conte is also known to be very demanding both physically and mentally. It is still memorable how Son Heung-min nearly fainted during Conte's physical training session while on a pre-season tour in South Korea.

"We really want to control the game, with 11 players against 10. So even if you lose 10 players and feel exhausted, you have to win this match. You have to do it," said Conte.

The combination of intensive training and the shock to the team trained by Conte due to the additional schedule in the Champions League in the second season could backfire if not managed properly.

It's no wonder Conte often struggles every time he plays in the Champions League.