Conte or Allegri for Italy? Capello weighs up pros and cons of appointing the Napoli and Milan head coaches

Fabio Capello believes that Antonio Conte is primed and ready to re-claim the Italy national team job, but feels that the need to adapt to international management would not put off Massimiliano Allegri either.

Conte and Allegri are the two leading candidates to take over as Italy national team head coach following the recent resignation of Gennaro Gattuso. Italy are still without an FIGC President as well, with elections scheduled for June 22, and so a decision on the next CT is not expected to arrive before a new head of the football association is in place.

Despite the uncertainties regarding the leadership of the Italian FA, there are two main candidates for the Italy head coach role, and Fabio Capello, speaking in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport has given his thoughts on both.

Capello on the next Italy CT: ‘Conte knows what awaits him, Allegri is intelligent’

One of the benefits in appointing Conte is the fact that he has already held the Italy head coach role between 2014 and 2016.

“That would be a plus point for him,” says Capello. “If he returns to the Azzurri dugout, he would already know what awaits him, even though the scenario has changed compared to 10 years ago.

“It’s practically impossible to get worse than this, we’ve hit rock bottom.”

For Allegri, however, it would be a first step into international football.

“You don’t have the daily relationship with the players,” Capello warned. “And that’s not trivial, you have less control over what happens during the season. From injuries to the form of various players, you experience everything from the outside until the players are in training camp at Coverciano.”

But does Capello feel that this would be an issue should Allegri take over the Italy job?

“I don’t think so, it would just be different. As I said, Max is intelligent and would quickly understand how to go about it. It would still clearly be a novelty for him at the beginning, while for Antonio it would not.

“Allegri, on the other hand, has something more in terms of communication. Conte has been less diplomatic on some occasions in the past.”

Capello believes that Conte did a decent job with the Italy national team during his time in charge between 2014 and 2016, but feels that the players he had available back then were of a slightly higher standard than the current crop of Azzurri representatives.

“He definitely had a European championship that was up to par, but there were also some different players available,” Capello said, referring to the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli.

“And there is no longer a real block of a (club) team in the national side. We have some from Inter, but it’s not as large as we’ve had in the past.”

This is not the first time that Capello has mentioned the need for a ‘block’ of players who play for the same club to be deployed in the Italy team.

“Look, the first piece of advice I would give to any coach: You need to create a base of players immediately, possibly focusing on ‘blocking’ a team from the national league.”

Capello feels that this is easier said than done, though, given the lack of opportunities handed to Italian players in Serie A at the moment.

“I know it well, our current difficulties stem from here. The level of Italian players has dropped and even the clubs are struggling. So for a recruiter, this is a very complicated task.”

Capello himself was once offered the Italy national team job but turned down the opportunity: “I received the Azzurri offer, but at the moment I didn’t feel like it and so I refuse.

“The national team is a matter of feeling and responsibility, and if at that precise moment I didn’t feel I could make myself available and it would have been wrong to do it and accept.

“The Italy job is not to be taken or rejected for the logic of convenience. It’s something you have to feel inside, because when the anthem starts, you are representing your country and you’re not ‘just’ at the service of a club like with other jobs. So I can’t suggest anything either way, it’s all strictly personal.”