Revealed: Antonio Conte asked Abramovich to sack these two Chelsea figures

Oct 8, 2016 at 4:25 PM

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Revealed: Antonio Conte asked Abramovich to sack these two Chelsea figures

Antonio Conte told Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to axe two key officials before taking the managerial job, according to reports.

Conte was appointed as Jose Mourinho’s permanent successor back in April, replacing interim boss Guus Hiddink in the summer.

And, according to Nigeran website Papilo News, the former Juventus manager demanded Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich ring the changes at Stamford Bridge.

The report states that Conte wanted to bring Roma chief Walter Sabatini to England with him.

However, Sabatini opted to remain in the Italian capital instead – though quit yesterday and was replaced by Frederic Massara.

Conte wanted technical director Michael Emenalo out given the way he had mercilessly criticised Mourinho back in December.

Emenalo gave an infamous interview to Chelsea TV where he referred to Mourinho as ‘the individual’ – a move that upset many of the Blues supporters.

He has been at the club since Avram Grant replaced Mourinho the first time the Portuguese was sacked back in 2007 – and has been working as the club’s Technical Director since 2011.

Conte also reportedly wanted Abramovich’s right-hand woman Marina Granovskaia to be shown the door.

Granovskaia was brought to the club in 2010 after spending 12 years as one of Abramovich’s advisors.

She is in charge of player transfers but has been criticised in recent years for bringing in flops such as Radamel Falcao, Pedro and Baba Rahman.

Granovskaia also helped strike deals for the likes of David Luiz, N’Golo Kante, Michy Batshuayi and Marcos Alonso this summer.

Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has plenty of time during the international break not only to reflect on the ups and downs of his first few months in charge but also to reassess the scale of the challenge he faces and how best he can meet it.

Conte’s reign as boss got off to the best possible start. A laggard assemblage of dispirited, disgruntled primadonnas was suddenly a force to be reckoned with again as the Italian’s infectious enthusiasm for the game percolated through the squad.

Three straight wins against West Ham, Watford and Burnley buoyed the club’s supporters, who despite noting the backline was still suspect, were pumped full of wonderful early season optimism that last season’s nightmares were a thing of the past.

Horribly, they weren’t, and resounding defeats at the hands of Liverpool and Arsenal were a wake-up call for those who’d slept past the alarm bells that started ringing when Marcos Alonso and David Luiz were the men hustled into Stamford Bridge at the conclusion of the summer transfer window.

 

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