Antonio Conte will reportedly take charge of AC Milan next season, which could see him oust title-winning manager Stefano Pioli.
Conte, who previously managed rivals Inter Milan, has been unemployed since being sacked by Tottenham last year after a brutal tirade against his players.
Pioli’s contract runs until June 2025 but he has come under increasing scrutiny this season, with the Rossoneri finishing third in Serie A and moving away from the title race.
According to Telelombardia, a regional television channel, Milan are prepared to offer Conte a route back to management Football Italy.
The report claims Conte has spoken to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the AC Milan senior advisor and former striker who was on both sides of the city’s divide as a player.
Antonio Conte will reportedly take charge of AC Milan next season, replacing Stefano Pioli
Conte was sacked by Tottenham last March after an extraordinary tirade against his players
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His name has been doing the rounds in Italy lately, with other reports claiming he has had several meetings with Napoli’s top brass.
Conte previously managed Inter Milan between 2019 and 2021, guiding them to the title in his final season, and was also very successful in the dugout at Juventus.
While taking charge of your former enemies would be seen as a great move in England, it has many precedents in Italian football. Pioli has managed both San Siro clubs, as has the legendary Giovanni Trapattoni, among others.
Conte’s stock fell here during his tumultuous reign at Spurs between 2021 and 2023.
Although he managed to guide them to the Champions League, his clinical attitude left supporters with an icy impression.
He postponed talk of a contract extension in his final season and was eventually let go by ‘mutual consent’ in March 2023, just over a week after a 3-3 draw with Southampton where Spurs surrendered a two-goal lead late on.
The Italian addressed his players in a series of explosive interviews after the match against Southampton, questioning their desire and attitude, with major concerns raised at board level about how the tirade was affecting the squad’s morale.
Current boss Stefano Pioli led AC Milan to the Serie A title in 2022, but it didn’t work out
Conte reportedly spoke to club legend and senior advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic about the move
“They’re used to it here,” Conte grumbled after the 3-3 draw at St Mary’s. ‘They’re not playing for anything important. They don’t want to play under pressure. They don’t want to play under stress. This way it’s easy. The story of Tottenham is this.
‘I said I wanted to see the fire, but I didn’t see it. I said I wanted to see the fire in their eyes and in their hearts. I want to see the right mind. Not only in training, but also on the field, because this is where you make the difference.
‘So far I’m trying to hide the situation, but there are still ten games to go and some people think we can fight. Fighting for what? With this spirit, this attitude, this dedication? What? For seventh, eighth, tenth place?’.
Spurs were fourth at the time he was sacked, but the clubs behind them still had games in hand and eventually finished eighth under interim bosses Christian Stellini and Ryan Mason.
This season under Pioli has hardly been a disaster for AC Milan, but there is a sense that the club has not progressed since winning the Scudetto in 2022 and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.
They are seven points behind Juventus in second place and finished third in the Champions League ‘group of death’ consisting of PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle.
Conte’s reputation in Italy is impeccable after winning four Serie A titles as a manager – and five as a player
Managing both Milan clubs is not uncommon and was famously done by the legendary Giovanni Trapattoni
Despite crashing out of the Coppa Italia quarter-finals against Atalanta, they are actually seven games unbeaten in the competition and can still challenge for top honours, but they are eight points behind leaders Inter.
Defensive problems were their Achilles heel. With 25 goals, they only have the joint eighth record at the back in Serie A and are much more porous than the top two teams.
Conte, known for his discipline and conservative management style, would likely be an appointment that would prioritize resolving that.
And his reputation in Italy doesn’t take much into account the Spurs debacle, having won four Serie A titles as a manager and five as a player.