Conte implicitly blamed the player in his message to leave Tottenham
The message posted on Instagram on the evening of March 27 opened with the Italian leader emphasizing that football is his passion. Conte expressed regret at not being able to continue his journey with Tottenham and the fans. He considers the fans singing his name in the matches as an unforgettable memory.
However, Conte also implicitly thinks that he must leave Tottenham because some people at the club do not support the way. "I would like to express my deep gratitude to the members of Tottenham, who have appreciated and shared with me my passion and strict working style as a coach," the 53-year-old coach wrote.
Earlier, in his last speech as Tottenham head coach, Conte spent nearly 10 minutes criticizing the players. He called them "selfish people who don't dare to deal with pressure", and suggested that Tottenham would "not be able to succeed" with such players, after seeing the team open the scoring and lead 3-1, but was still equalized 3-3 by the host Southampton in the 28th round of the Premier League on March 19.
According to British media, after many other criticisms and scoldings of Conte, the above speech was the last straw, causing the relationship between the Italian coach and some players in the team to completely break down. Many members of the team put pressure on the leadership, demanding the immediate dismissal of Conte and waiting to work with a new coach when he returned after two weeks to make room for the national teams.
The players were said to be willing to accept responsibility for disappointing results on the pitch, but were outraged when Conte criticized them for being selfish and questioned their commitment to the club. Midfielder Pierre Emile Hojbjerg also publicly rebutted Conte: "If the coach thinks Tottenham players are selfish, he needs to be more precise, because I always try hard for the team."
A full week after Conte's speech, Tottenham announced his farewell on the basis of consensus. The London team did not rush to appoint another coach to replace Conte, but appointed his assistant, Cristian Stelleini as an interim with support from Ryan Mason - the coach in charge of the first team. According to British media, Tottenham are racing with Real Madrid to appoint Julian Nagelsmann - the German coach who has just been sacked by Bayern - in the summer of 2023.
Conte took office at Tottenham on November 2, 2021, replacing his sacked predecessor, Nuno Espirito Santo. He helped the team finish fourth in the Premier League last season and win tickets to the Champions League this season. By the time of receiving the resignation, Conte had led Tottenham 76 games, achieving a win rate of 53.95% with 41 matches, in addition to 12 draws and 23 defeats.
Tottenham this season has stopped in the Champions League, after losing to Milan in the 1/8 round, and being eliminated by Sheffield United from the 5th round of the FA Cup. In the English Premier League, they are fourth with 49 points from 28 matches, but Newcastle are behind with only two points less and two games left.
