Three tactical changes Anonio Conte is likely to bring about at Chelsea FC

The constant shouting, the touchline antics, and the manic gleam in his eyes when Graziano Pelle scored the injury-time winner for Italy against Spain would have brought back fond memories for the Chelsea FC fans. They are finally set to get a manager who could give the top coaches in the world a run for their money.

Antonio Conte has been the talk of the town in at the 2016 European Championships, and the Italian head coach has had to earn the laurels that he is getting today.

In fact, the Azzurri were rated as rank outsiders (18/1) by the bookmakers to win the tournament. However, Conte has shown that he can tactically beat even the best of teams — something that Chelsea have seldom done since Mourinho’s first stint with the club around a decade back.

However, it was clear from Italy’s performances so far in the European Championships, that Conte is likely to deploy a system that we have never seen at the Stamford Bridge. So let’s take a look at the changes that the current Italy boss might bring about at Chelsea.

The three-man defence

Conte has shown that he prefers to use the 3-5-2 formation. Hence, we will assume that the Italian will try to implement this same formation at Chelsea as well. Now this obviously involves Chelsea playing a three-man defence, something that we have not seen the west London club do in recent years.

Finding three quality centre-backs will not be much of a problem for Conte at Chelsea, as the Blues possess a number of quality players among their ranks. The likes of Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, Kurt Zouma, and John Terry are all good defenders and can do the job for Conte. However, with the system that he employs, Conte needs a good passer at the heart of the three-man defence.

He has had a pass-master in the form of Leonardo Bonucci to fulfill this role at both Juventus and Italy over the years, but the aforementioned Chelsea defenders are nowhere as good at playing the ball out of defence, as the Italian. Hence, a move for Bonucci looks to be on the cards for Chelsea, if Conte is hell-bent on playing a three-man defence.
However, there are significant doubts on whether Bonucci would want to leave Serie A champions for Chelsea, who are not even in the Champions League next season. If the deal for the 29-year-old does not fall through, Conte might consider John Obi Mikel as a possible option to operate in the heart of the three-man defence.

Mikel has shown that he can play as a centre-back, as he was deployed during Chelsea’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool last season. The Nigerian international certainly has good enough ball control and passing ability to operate as the wise-head in the middle of a three-man defence.

Attacking midfielders to get the boot?

As we have seen from Italy’s style of play, there is hardly any room for an advanced attacking midfielder in Conte’s system. This is why a skillful player like AC Milan’s Giacomo Bonaventura did not make the cut for the 23-man Italian squad.

Conte’s 3-5-2 system requires more box-to-box midfielders, rather than the out-and-out playmakers. This could spell doom for Brazilian midfielder Oscar, who has operated as a number 10 for the entirety of his career. Spain’s Cesc Fabregas could also find himself in a spot of bother, as he is not exactly a box-to-box midfielder.

However, it is highly unlikely that Conte will do away with a ball-player like Fabregas, as he is someone who can dictate terms in midfield. The Italian boss has not had the luxury of playing the injured Marco Verratti in the European Championship, but Fabregas is the perfect player he could deploy at the tip of the three-man midfield (just like Verratti).

Fabregas would be the perfect player for this role, something that he has done previously for Chelsea as well. While his passing accuracy is not as high as that of Verratti’s, Fabregas has the ability to pick out a teammate from long range. His vision for creating chances will also be helpful for Conte’s 3-5-2 system, as Fabregas would be the chief playmaker in the setup.

However, one player that Chelsea would need in this system is a box-to-box midfielder. The Blues have been linked with a move for AS Roma man Radja Nainggolan, who would be a good option in midfield.

The possible signing of Nainggolan would make the midfield complete with Fabregas operating as the main playmaker, and Nemanja Matic playing the role of the holding midfielder, while Nainggolan does all the legwork. The brilliance of this system is that each of the three midfielders are capable of doing something that the other two cannot.

Interchangeable wingers and fullbacks

Eden Hazard might have to work doubly hard if he wants to succeed under Antonio Conte’s system. The Belgian winger has excelled in his position on the left flank at Chelsea, but he will probably have to perform a more complicated role, if Conte plays the 3-5-2 at Stamford Bridge.

Firstly, Hazard is unlikely to have a fullback to support him on the flanks. While playing the two strikers up front means that one of the forwards will probably step onto the flanks to help their respective wingers, Hazard might have to perform another role under Conte.

The two-wide men in the 3-5-2 setup have to double up as wing-backs when the team is defending. We have seen Juventus play a combination of Juan Cuadrado on the right and Patrice Evra on the left, or Stephan Lichsteiner on the right and Alex Sandro on the left. This means that a combination of one traditional winger and one traditional fullback could be deployed on the flanks.

Chelsea have a bit of an advantage in this respect, as they have an ambidextrous fullback in the form of Cesar Azpilicueta. Whatever be the combination though, Hazard will have to increase his defensive work-rate under Conte’s system, in order to help out the defence.