Fri 31 December 2021, 18:45
Tottenham HotspurAntonio Conte goes way back with Watford boss Claudio Ranieri.
The pair first locked horns when Antonio was a midfielder and captain at Juventus in Serie A - he played there from 1991-2004, winning fives titles and the Champions League - while Ranieri was in charge of Cagliari, Napoli and Fiorentina.
Fast-forward to 2011, and Antonio took over as manager of Juventus, when Ranieri took the reins at Inter. Antonio was then at Chelsea in 2016/17, just after Claudio won the title at Leicester City (2015/16) and the pair met again recently when Antonio was at Inter and Ranieri at Roma and Sampdoria.
Needless to say, Antonio’s respect for Ranieri, now 70, is palpable. Speaking to Spurs TV ahead of our New Year’s Day clash at Vicarage Road (3pm), Antonio told us: “First of all, he’s a good person, a good man. For me, it means a lot. Then, also, he’s a really good manager.
“He did something amazing in England to win (the title) with Leicester. He has experience in many countries - Italy, Spain, England, France - and to do this, it means you have to be very good. We have a good friendship with the family but tomorrow, for sure, he’s the enemy. You know very well from the start until the end, he will be our opponent. Then, we will try to organise a dinner with our families...”
Antonio remains unbeaten in the Premier League since joining us in November.
That run has continued over the busy festive period but he expects a brighter start than we saw in our draw at Southampton last time out on Tuesday, when we fell behind after 25 minutes. We equalised before the break as Southampton went down to 10 men, but it ended a frustrating 1-1 draw.
“I expect a game like the last game against Southampton,” added Antonio. “They are a physical team, very strong physically, and we have to pay great attention. Compared to the last game, we have to start better and to be ready from the start for a big impact, especially a big, physical impact against Watford.”
