Antonio Conte has delivered his verdict on Inter Milan’s outstanding Serie A campaign as Juventus’ dominance of Italian football came to a halt on Sunday. The 51-year-old has won his fourth Serie A title but first as the Nerazzurri boss, with his side running riot in the Italian top-flight this term.
It had been a frustratingly long 11-year title wait for the Inter supporters, but Conte has managed to put everything together at the Giuseppe Meazza this season. Atalanta’s 1-1 draw at Sassuolo on Sunday afternoon means the Nerazzurri have won their 19th Scudetto and first since the 2009/2010 campaign.
Although Romelu Lukaku carried his team forward throughout the entire league campaign, much of the credit for Inter’s long-awaited domestic success has to be pinned on Conte. After navigating the Lombardian outfit to the Champions League group stage in his first year at the helm, the Italian tactician has gone from strength to strength this season around.
Inter have been crowned the champions and deservedly so, having lost a league-low two out of 34 Serie A fixtures so far this campaign. In terms of consistency and the ability to prevail in close, keenly-contested contests, no Italian team has been anywhere near Conte’s men in 2020/21.
In addition to scoring the second-high 79 goals, the newly-crowned champions have conceded a league-low 29 goals so far, with their +45 goal difference bettering the closest followers by at least seven. The fact they have left perennial champions Juventus 13 points behind with four games to spare only sweetens Inter’s success.
Conte, who has been a paramount influence in the Nerazzurri locker room, hailed this title as ‘one of the biggest achievements in my career.’
“We are now more relaxed and happy with what we have managed to do,” the Italian tactician told the club’s official website.
“We are happy for ourselves and for the people that have taken Inter back to the top, as well as for the fans.
“This triumph is one of the biggest achievements in my career. It was not an easy choice for me to go to Inter at the time when the team was not used to winning.
“They were also a team that is the direct rival of Juventus, my former club.”