Antonio Conte is going to overthrow the empire of Juventus that he has helped to create

The main challenge for ambitious clubs in Italy is as obvious as it is daunting: to try to put an end to Juventus' reign in Serie A for almost ten years. Things like qualifying and a Champions League race are important, as is success in the national cup. But all this must be subordinated to the real goal of tearing the scudetto from the hands of the giants in Turin.

In recent years, Naples has done the most admirable work on this front. Roma can also be proud of their efforts. But because of the size and financial strength of the club, it was long felt that the clubs that had the most chances to stop Juve were the two teams from Milan. Should one be in good standing after years of mismanagement? With today's announcement that Inter has hired Antonio Conte, the man who launched Juventus' eight consecutive titles as the new director, Inter may have finally found the right plan for start his assault.

As manager of the X and O, Conte is one of the best in the world. The 49-year-old Italian has three consecutive Serie A titles won in as many years at Juventus, a laudable sequence with the Italian national team and a Premier League trophy won extravagantly at Chelsea. . What Conte is doing on the ground at Inter will surely be interesting. But what will be even more important is to know if it is able to incorporate a quality of elite sufficient, but relatively inefficient, on the market of the transfers to constitute an alignment able to exceed the Juventus.

The first contract of Conté on this side will surely be with Mauro Icardi. The Argentine striker is certainly talented, but has been criticized for his inconsistency and his fragile commitment within the club. Icardi, especially through his wife, his agent and the hurricane of controversy that caused the break in the locker room, Wanda Nara, has not stopped questioning in recent years about his future at Inter and about his requirements for a new contract. As expected, it infuriated Inter fans, coaches and teammates. Icardi is both the best player in Inter and their biggest headache.

If there is one character trait that Conté has embodied in his leadership mandates, it is that he does not overlap well with the players' egos. If Conté has a say, it is a real lock that he will try to unload the attacker. (The Italian media have already started to hit this drum.) Conte a a well-documented thirst for Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku– he tried to sign it at Juventus at the beginning of the decade and pursued it to Chelsea – and everything suggests that Conté is again desperate to acquire the services of the Belgian. It will be difficult to find a solution (United and Juventus feel to be the most likely destinations for Icardi), but knowing whether Conte succeeds in getting rid of Icardi and replacing it with Lukaku will likely have a decisive effect on the overall success of Icardi. new project of Inter. .

There are other holes on the Inter side. While the defense center is full (especially with the imminent arrival of Diego Godin), the team could use the help anywhere else. Marcelo Brozović is the only midfielder whose place should be ensured for next season. The team must find reliable creators to feed the scorers. But the pieces for the contention game of the title are there, they just need some reworking and maybe a few corner pieces to adjust everything.

More than anything, however, what is the Nerazzurri The need is a man with a vision of what kind of club should be. It's not entirely clear if Conte is that guy. With the possible exception of José Mourinho, no recent memory boss has exhausted his home faster or with more noise than Conte. He gets results, but his method is madness. Between trading formations seemingly at will, his training sessions deemed intense, or send Diego Costa on extended vacation, Conte is not known to be the manager of a player. Whether the Inter contingent answers his style or not will be the club's main issue this season. In the future, the fact that Conte finds in Milan a house in which he feels comfortable, long enough to build something sustainable for this huge ship without rudder, will probably determine whether the Inter will succeed in its attempt to become champions of Italy in the near future.

But Conte was here before. When he took control of Juventus, they had not won the league since Calciopoli scandal of the mid-2000s. Juventus was built on the foundations of Conte and now enjoys the most overwhelming domination era ever seen by Italy. Now Conte takes control of his hated rival Juve and has a chance to overthrow the empire and consolidate his legacy as one of the greatest coaches in the history of Italian football.

Juventus remain the favorite to win another victory scudetto next season, and probably the next two league titles after that. But Inter has the means to be upset if everything goes well. They have history, money (the club is majority owned by a multi-billion dollar Chinese holding company), willpower, and now they think they have the coach. They could do it. After all, who better to destroy a world historic juggernaut than the man who created it?