Antonio Conte enters the Hall of fame of Italian football and encourages the Azzurri on the pitch for the World Cup play-offs.
"We certainly weren't lucky, both in the group and in the draw. But we are Italy and we know very well what to do, we are the European champions, let's not forget - the message from the former national team coach -. Of course, it won't be. simple, because the two strongest teams among those that ended up in the playoffs are Italy and Portugal, but I think we have what it takes. We have to go to the World Cup. "
Conte, after Sacchi, Trapattoni, Lippi and Mancini, is the fifth former Italian coach to enter the 'Coach' category of the Hall of Fame.
"For me - the words of Conte - this award is certainly a source of pride, a great satisfaction. It means supporting people who have made the history of our football."
Five scudetti won, in addition to international trophies such as the UEFA Cup, the Champions League and the Intertoto Cup, vice-world champion in 1994 and vice-champion of Europe in 2000 with the blue jersey his career as a footballer.
As a coach he achieved two promotions in Serie A on the bench of Bari and on that of Siena, with Juve between 2011 and 2014 he confirmed himself as champion of Italy for three consecutive seasons, in addition to having won two Italian Super Cups;
In his two years as a city on the blue bench he led Italy to the quarter-finals of the 2016 Europeans. "I think - explains Conte - that in the end the recognition was given considering both my careers, both as a footballer and as a coach. also because in both cases I had an important path, with the luck and skill to win practically everything there was to win. Unfortunately, only something was missing with the national team, considering that I was vice world champion and of Europe. As a coach I'm trying to retrace the same important path. "
And it is precisely the blue shirt worn in USA '94 with the number 15 on the shoulders the relic that the former city has given to the Football Museum.