Sampaoli reveals that he was the ‘first choice’ at Chelsea

Mar 12, 2016 at 10:12 PM

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Sampaoli reveals that he was the ‘first choice’ at Chelsea

Chelsea football club are in a precarious position for the rest of the season as they find themselves needing a new coach before the start of the next season with the present one finding some form at the moment.

Italy national team coach Antonio Conte is the front runner for the post and is expected widely to take over the club next season but the Chile national team coach Jorge Sampaoli has come out and made some interesting statement.

The 55-year old Argentinean said that he was really close to becoming the next Chelsea manager and revealed that not knowing English as a language has cost him the job at Stamford Bridge.

It was rumored that Conte has already started learning the language and is not too far away from signing for the Blues next season.

“Now I can say that I was really, really close to becoming the new coach of Chelsea,” Conte said.

He also added that he was the first choice for the job and that he already had a meeting with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich but revealed that talks broke down.

“I was about to be their new coach. I had this meeting with Chelsea’s owner and he told me that I was the first option at that moment.”

But Conte then emerged as an option and has now close to landing the job this summer.

Sampaoli revealed that the club has chosen Conte over him in his interview making it almost certain that the deal is done. He said that it was disappointing for him that he has lost a chance to manage a team in the Premier League.

He said, “Unfortunately, Chelsea have chosen Conte over me. It¹s a real shame for me, because I was so excited about coaching a Premier League club.”

“The Premier League is definitely the best league in the world and I wanted to coach there. But as I said, it didn’t happen in the end.

Sampaoli was already approached by Premier League team Swansea City but it the talks did not end well but the 55-year old revealed that the talks with the London franchise were more complicated.

“I was called by Chelsea, but it won’t happen. It was complicated from the beginning,” he added.

As mentioned earlier, he stated that his lack of communication skills in English the national language in the UK was the biggest hindrance for this job.

“I would have to motivate a group of players through communication, and I still have to speak much better in English.

He however acknowledged that it was not easy to settle into a team with no knowledge of the language and that he would have taken too long than what a club like Chelsea could afford.

“I needed some time in order to improve my English. But this kind of club doesn’t give you that time,”

Sampaoli is now without a job after he resigned from the duties as the Chilean national team head coach earlier this January.

Do you think Sampaoli will successfully manage a Premier League team in the near future?

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