Tottenham vs Roma: Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho appointments judged as enemies renew bitter rivalry

To recap, from October 2016, the two clashed repeatedly after Conte succeeded Mourinho at Chelsea – famous for their collapse to 10th place in 2015-16 as “the Mourinho season” – and the Portuguese went on to take charge of Manchester United.

Among the many highlights were Conte who described Mourinho as “a little man” and accused him of senile dementia and Mourinho who alluded to his rival’s hair transplant and the historic ban on match fixing.

They reached an uneasy truce in February 2018, though neither has forgotten the intensity of the feud as they prepare to meet again in Israel.

This weekend there is an added dynamism to the rivalry, with Mourinho facing his former club, who has been succeeded (indirectly) for the third time by Conte.

Mourinho remains bitter about his time in north London after being sacked six days before the Carabao Cup final and Spurs are his only club since pre-Porto, failing to deliver silverware after Roma’s Europe triumph Conference League last season.

Since joining the job in November, Conte was clearly concerned he could suffer the same fate, and it’s questionable whether his time at Spurs retroactively (or otherwise) positively reflects Mourinho’s 17 months in north London .

Conte’s judgment of certain individuals – notably Dele Alli and Tanguy Ndombele – has justified many of Mourinho’s decisions and in general the two managers have trusted the same players.

Throughout Mourinho’s reign, the lingering question was whether Spurs had a good squad in dire need of a progressive coach or, as the ‘Special One’ often seemed to suggest, a subpar side that was almost uncoachable.

The debate split the fan base between those who saw Mourinho as the problem and those who felt he hadn’t been given the tools to be successful. Unhelpfully, both sides can argue that they were right in light of Conte’s nine months in charge.

On the one hand, the Italian has admitted that he underestimated the quality of the squad when he took the job, and his frequent nagging about the class gap against Chelsea as Chelsea last season supported Mourinho’s claim that Spurs were lacking in quality.

That said, Conte still managed to do what Mourinho never seemed capable of, which was to organize the squad into a cohesive unit and lead them back to the Champions League. He could thus claim to have shown Mourinho again, although Conte has obviously enjoyed favorable terms.

He has the centre-back Mourinho has always longed for in Cristian Romero and works alongside director Fabio Paratici, who many believe has been as influential in the speed and efficiency of Spurs’ summer operations as the discerning head coach.

Mourinho, on the other hand, worked directly under Daniel Levy, and during the pandemic when the chairman feared for the club’s immediate financial future.

While Mourinho was to some extent supported in the transfer market in January and summer 2020, most of his signings have been disappointing and the club are today in a much stronger financial position to rebuild (although in part, of course, as Conte led them back to the Champions League).

To make the point, both managers signed a Brazilian forward as an understudy to Harry Kane in their first summer. Mourinho’s was Carlos Vinicius, a Benfica journeyman who never seemed able to play in the Premier League, while Conte’s was Richarlison, a £60m purchase and Brazil’s current No. 9 who has already proven himself in English football .

Conte appreciates the trusty Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, signed to Mourinho, while his greatest legacy may well be in Kane and Son Heung-min, who have both tweaked their game under the 59-year-old and continued to improve with Conte.

But Mourinho also left deep-seated problems at Spurs, which his immediate successor Nuno Espirito Santo was unable to resolve.

Conte inherited an unbalanced squad that was desperately short of fitness, a dressing room divided by factions and infighting, and a club without a modern management structure.

Mourinho impresses at Roma but was the wrong man at the wrong time for Tottenham, not the cause of most of their problems but it is always unlikely to be a solution. Conte, on the other hand, currently appears to be the perfect coach for these new ambitious, post-pandemic Spurs, who are now looking to win under Levy and Paratici.

Given the context, the pair will likely share platitudes this weekend, but privately it would be fascinating to know everyone’s thoughts on each other’s Spurs government.

Mourinho could argue that Conte is completing the squad rebuilding process and turning the remnants of Mauricio Pochettino’s side from near-men into winners, which he started. Conte may feel he has had to pick up the pieces of another “Mourinho season”.