Former Chelsea star opens up on what it’s like to train under Antonio Conte

Gary Cahill has claimed that although Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho have different personalities, they are both similar in terms of the level of detail they emphasise during training.

Mourinho won three Premier League titles across his two spells at Chelsea, with Cahill being part of the club’s triumph in the 2014-15 campaign.

Jose Mourinho
Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images

The centre-back was also a key player for Antonio Conte in the 2016-17 season, with the Italian’s Chelsea side beating Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham to the title that year.

Mourinho was not able to recreate the success he had at Stamford Bridge at Spurs and the North London club’s hierarchy will be hoping that Conte can do better than the Portuguese coach.

The signs so far have certainly been positive, with the Lilywhites making considerable progress in the 53-year-old’s first 12 months in charge of the club.

Cahill has now waxed lyrical about both Mourinho and Conte, admitting that they were each extremely demanding in training and meticulous in their preparation for matches.

The England international, who hung up his boots this week, told Sky Sports Football Daily about the Italian and Portuguese coaches: “(I have) good memories working with both. I think both very, very intense.

“I’ve said in the past I think one season is like having three seasons with these guys. The intensity levels, what they’re demanding in training and games.

“Different personalities but similar in some aspects of their coaching and the detail and how they adapt to the different opposition you play against, hence why they are so, so successful.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I can understand why some are tempted to draw parallels between Mourinho and Conte as their personalities are quite similar. However, tactically, they are a lot different than people think.

While neither Jose’s nor Conte’s teams tend to press the opposition high up the pitch unless they are a goal or two down, the Italian’s teams tend to take a lot more risk in possession of the ball.

Like Pep’s sides, Conte’s teams rely on automatism when in possession while Mourinho tends to allow his forwards to come up with their own solutions on the pitch.

Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Related Topics

Have something to tell us about this article? Let us know