Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte and Liverpool FC handler, Jurgen Klopp, are in a situation of mixed grill concerning their coaching career, as one is planning to end his career as a football coach, while the other has declared that, quitting the job is far away from his immediate plans.
Conte on his own side, has said that the death of three close friends in a matter of months had left him questioning his future in football.
Gian Piero Ventrone, the club’s fitness coach, died in October before December witnessed the passing of Conte’s friend and former Lazio defender Sinisa Mihajlovic.
And earlier this month came the death of Conte’s former Juventus and Italy team-mate Gianluca Vialli.
The 53-year-old Conte is the same age as Mihajlovic was at his time of death, while Vialli was just five years older than the much-travelled Italian manager.
A devastated Conte was forced to say, when asked questions on the death of his friends,”Because to lose in such a short time three people that I knew very well — before Gian Piero Ventrone, then Sinisa and now Gianluca. It was not simple.”
He added, “For sure, when this situation happens, it brings you to have important reflections. Because many times we think and we give a lot of importance to our work and we forget the family, we forget that we need to have more time for us.
“This season is a difficult season for me as a personal aspect. For sure, this season is making me to have an important reflection on my future.”
Conte’s contract at Spurs expires at the end of the current season.
And with the north London side fifth and still in the hunt for a Champions League place, Conte insisted he would focus on the task at hand despite any uncertainty over his long-term future.
“You can tell me I could be not a good coach, but about the commitment and what I give the club where I work, no club was unhappy about this,” he said.
“Usually when I left the club, they regret me leaving a lot because they knew the way that I work and the commitment I put into the club, what I give for the club.
“Yes. I think this. But in this aspect, I am really happy for the way that I am.”
While Liverpool coach, Jurgen Klopp, says he will not leave Liverpool unless he is told to go, hinting at a major overhaul of his ageing squad at the end of the season.
A sixth Premier League defeat of the campaign at the weekend means the 2020 champions are 10 points outside the top four with just over half the season remaining.
Klopp last year signed a contract extension until 2026 and the 55-year-old stressed only the sack would prevent him seeing that through.
“Either the manager’s position changes or a lot of other things change,” he said. “So as far as I am concerned unless someone tells me I will not go.
“So that means maybe there is a point where we have to change other stuff. We will see that, but that is something for the future. Like summer or whatever. Not now.
“I have space and time to think about it — we have to play better football now.”
Captain Jordan Henderson (32), Fabinho (29) and 31-year-old Thiago Alcantara remain first-choice picks in a midfield that is showing its age but Klopp denied he was being too loyal to the old guard.
“The problem is too complex. You have a good player who did a lot of good things in the past and then in your mind (you think) maybe that’s it for him,” said the Liverpool boss, speaking of the need for rejuvenation.
“If you can then go out and bring in another player to replace (him) that makes sense. If you cannot bring anybody in you cannot bring anybody out. That is the situation.”
Klopp, whose team face Wolves in an FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday, also rejected the suggestion that longer-serving players had stopped listening to him.
“I was not that often in a similar situation but I know exactly how it works when things don’t go well,” he said.
“There is a list of things you go through and one of the things is the players aren’t listening to the coach anymore.
“In Germany we say the manager doesn’t reach the team anymore. So I understand it looks like this sometimes but it is just not the case. You can take that off the list.”
