Gianluigi Buffon is convinced Antonio Conte will make Chelsea a force to be reckoned with again.
The Italy goalkeeper knows Conte’s methods inside out as they won three titles together at Juventus before the manager took over the national team in 2014.
Conte will move to Stamford Bridge after Euro 2016 and showed his tactical sharpness as Italy beat Belgium 2-0 in their opening game.
Chelsea were 10th in the Premier League last term — their worst finish in the Roman Abramovich era — and Buffon is sure Conte’s straightforward approach will turn things around.
“Conte is a big coach and I’m convinced he will be an excellent one at Chelsea,” said Buffon. “A Conte team is strong in defence and works constantly, day to day.
“Conte is a coach with an idea very simple. For the players he makes it very clear. He wants to play without risk in the defensive line and to exploit the opportunities to score goals when they come. This appears easy but he always wants more. So to go where we want we need to do whatever the coach asks of us.”
Although Conte is a renowed taskmaster there is another side to him. Buffon said: “He is a strong character but in his personal dealings with players he is close to them, that’s important for any dressing room. He always has a lot of dialogue with his players and I don’t think there’ll be problems.”
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