Chelsea's Antonio Conte plays down return to Italy national team

Vaishali Bhardwaj13 October 2017

Antonio Conte has dismissed the idea he could return to manage the Italy national team as the Chelsea boss revealed his wife and daughter have now settled in London.

Conte managed the Azzurri between 2014 and 2016 before taking up the managerial position at Chelsea, where he led the Blues to the Premier League title with a record-breaking 30 wins last season.

Despite having recently signed a new contract at Chelsea, the fact Conte did not extend his deal past 2019 coupled with Italy's World Cup qualification struggles led to reports suggesting the Chelsea manager could return to his homeland next summer.

But Conte has rubbished such stories, insisting he is fully focused on Chelsea - evidenced by the fact his daughter is now going to school near to Chelsea's training base.

"From two weeks I am reading wrong things also because I did an interview two weeks ago and I am sure the translation was wrong because in there I only said one day in the future I would like to go back to Italy.

"One day in the future but I know very well my position. I have two years contract with Chelsea to go and I'm happy to work for this club and with my players - and I like to work with my players.

"I like to have this great feeling with our fans, our supporters and I don't see problems but sometimes I think that we want to create these type of situations.

"But another situation I want to clarify is my family stay with me here, not in Italy. My daughter is going to school here in Cobham. It is important to write the truth and my family stay here - not in Italy."

When then asked whether he would consider staying at Chelsea past 2019, when his current deal expires, Conte replied: "Every coach when they start their work with a club, they hope to stay for a long time and try to build something important for the club.

"But I always say our job is very difficult and it is very strange because one day you are the best and another day you stay at your home."