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Soccer

How could a Chelsea side under Antonio Conte line up?

"Conte is the boss of the dressing room. He is a coach who believes in discipline and rules. Ther...



How could a Chelsea side under...
Soccer

How could a Chelsea side under Antonio Conte line up?

"Conte is the boss of the dressing room. He is a coach who believes in discipline and rules. There is a very strict code of conduct as to how players should behave on the field and off the field. Conte has very clear ideas about behavior, respect, being on time for training, no phones during certain times."

That was Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon telling The Mirror all about Antonio Conte's management and if any Chelsea players were expecting anything less than a strict disciplinarian when he takes charge after taking Italy to Euro 2016, they will be in for a rude awakening.

But what of Conte's tactics and philosophy of play?

At club level, the Juventus side he led to three consecutive Serie A titles had some clear patterns running through it.

One of those was his clear affection for having a back-three with wing-backs. At first, his early Juve side started off with a 4-4-2, before transitioning to a 4-3-3 and then finally to the 3-5-2 in which wing-backs Stephan Lichsteiner and Kwadwo Asamoah provided the width. 

His most recent Italy starting team also featured a 3-4-3 with Roma's Alessandro Florenzi and Bologna's Emanuele Giaccherini as wing-backs.

The players at his disposal also dictated that his team enjoyed general dominance of the ball with an eventual mix of Andrea Pirlo, Cluadio Marchisio, Paul Pogba or Arturo Vidal often making up the central three behind a front two.

Frequently, Juve's average ball possession for a season was in the mid to high 50s which may not be Pep era Barcelona-type figures, but strong for Serie A.

And the back-three is no longer as alien a formation as it had become in the Premier League for a time, with its use more frequent than it has been.

Brendan Rodgers and Louis van Gaal are just two managers who have dabbled with it, although  no club has successfully implemented it as a long-term system beyond the span of a season.

Chelsea's squad will be reconfigured of course with very few players, bar the likes of Willian or Thibaut Courtois appearing to be very secure of keeping their place or staying on in the medium to long-term.

Oscar, too, is a player who marries work-rate with attacking verve and would appear to be the type of player Conte favours, while Colombia international Juan Cuadrado - currently on loan at Juve - may be an option for a right-wing back role without spending money.

But in terms of players who he might have an interesting in bringing in stand his former Juventus proteges like Vidal, Pogba and ball-playing Italy centre-back Leonardo Bonucci.

You would imagine those three would be very long shots this summer.

Either way, he will need to seek the dynamic players capable of bringing the high level of work-rate he demanded at Juve, while potentially being able to slot into his preferred shape.

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