Chelsea has announced Guus Hiddink’s successor, and a poorly-kept secret is officially out in the open.
Antonio Conte is headed to Stamford Bridge on a three-year contract, leaving the Italian national team after the Euros.
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Conte played at Lecce and then Juventus until 2004, then embarking on a managerial career that counts stops at Bari, Atalanta, Juventus, Siena and Italy.
The 46-year-old said: ‘I am very excited about the prospect of working at Chelsea Football Club. I am proud to be the coach of the national team of my country and only a role as attractive as manager of Chelsea could follow that.
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‘Chelsea and English football are watched wherever you go, the fans are passionate and my ambition is to have more success to follow the victories I enjoyed in Italy.
‘I am happy we have made the announcement now so everything is clear and we can end the speculation. I will continue to focus on my job with the Italian national team and will reserve speaking about Chelsea again until after the Euros.’
Conte’s a hardline guy, but has won more than half of his matches at his last three stops: Siena, Juventus and Italy.
That includes close to a 68 percent winning percentage with The Old Lady from 2011-14, where he was he a three-time Serie A Coach of the Year across a trio of scudetti.