Ex-Juventus Midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini: “Inter Coach Antonio Conte Gets Everything Out Of You” | OneFootball

Former Juventus midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini has sung the praises of Inter boss Antonio Conte ahead of Sunday’s Derby d’Italia.

The Nerazzurri have a golden opportunity to pull clear of Andrea Piro’s side with victory at San Siro, having conceded two points to them on Sunday with a 2-2 draw at Roma.

Giaccherini, who now plays for Chievo Verona in Serie B, spent three years playing for Conte while he managed Juventus along with two years with the Italian national team, and in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, which appeared in Tuesday’s print edition, he admitted that Conte is someone who does not leave things down to chance.

“Is he a like sergeant? Yes, during the week he leaves nothing to chance, then in the game he directs everything, from pressing to playing,” he explained.

“Now without supporters in the stands, you experience it too.

“He is a comander, a motivator and a fighter, he gets everything out of you.”

Giaccherini proceeded to speak about Conte and his dedication to tactics, which he believes always make things difficult for the opponents of his teams.

“On a tactical level he is maniacal, we always did 40-50 minutes of drills per session, we tried out everything.

“His way of playing puts every opponent in difficulty, when he says that the opponents have to change their way of playing against Inter it is true.

“Then of course, in complicated matches it may be useful to find an alternative solution but he knows what he has to do.”

The former Italian national team representative then went on to discuss how working under the stewardship of Conte improved him as a player and also as a person.

“The coach gave me a lot of confidence, he made me grow in terms of self-esteem.

“I had come in from Cesena, I had everything to prove and with the work ethic he transmits, he made me take a big step.

“It changed me as a player and also as a man, mentally.

Giaccherini was then asked about this coming weekend’s big match and he named both his favourite for this match and favourite to win the Serie A title.

“Inter are strong, they also deserved to win in Rome, I don’t think they are in a bad period.

“Juve will have to manage without many injured players.

“I see Conte as favourite both for the match and for the Scudetto.

“I think it’s the year of the Nerazzurri. They are more mature and not in Europe, everything will be decided in March-April.”