Italy concede defeat in Antonio Conte chase

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 06 February 2018

The Italian Football Federation announces that Antonio Conte is no longer in the running for the national team job, despite speculation over his future at Chelsea.

Italy have given up their attempts to prise Antonio Conte away from Chelsea, despite reports that he could be close to the sack at Stamford Bridge.

Conte's future has come under increasingly intense scrutiny in recent weeks, with Chelsea winning just two of their last 10 games inside normal time and dropping down to fourth in the Premier League table.

A 3-0 midweek defeat to Bournemouth was followed up on Monday night by a 4-1 loss to Watford, leading to bookmakers suspending betting on Conte being sacked by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich just nine months after leading the club to the title.

The Italian Football Federation, meanwhile, is keen to reinstate Conte as manager of the national team, although vice-commissioner Alessandro Costacurta has now revealed that the Chelsea boss has withdrawn from the running.

"Antonio Conte has pulled out. As Conte reiterated the other day, he wants to continue working as a coach on a day-by-day basis at club level for at least the next 18 months, the length of his Chelsea contract, so he has pulled out of the running," Costacurta is quoted as saying by the Evening Standard.

Conte previously served as Italy manager between 2014 and 2016, while interim boss Luigi di Biagio and Zenit St Petersburg head coach Roberto Mancini are now the frontrunners to land the role.