Antonio Conte has left Tottenham “by mutual agreement” after 16 months in charge, the Premier League club announced on Sunday. His departure comes after the Italian’s extraordinary post-match rant following a 3-3 draw at Southampton on March 18, a game in which they blew a 3-1 lead.The 53-year-old, who took over in November 2021, will be replaced by his assistant Cristian Stellini until the end of the season, the north London club said in an official statement late on Sunday.”We can announce that head coach Antonio Conte has left the club by mutual agreement. We achieved Champions League qualification in Antonio’s first season at the club. We thank Antonio for his contribution and wish him well for the future. Cristian Stellini will take the team as acting head coach for the remainder of the season, along with Ryan Mason as assistant head coach.”This is how Antonio Conte’s record compares to other Tottenham managers 📊#BBCFootball #THFC pic.twitter.com/tztvmk3cBH— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) March 26, 2023 Spurs chairman Daniel Levy called everyone associated with the club for unity.”We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place. We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our club and amazing, loyal supporters.”Conte leaves with Spurs fourth in the Premier League, but only two points above fifth-placed Newcastle, who have two games in hand on the London side in the race for Champions League qualification. Stellini previously stood in for Conte on the touchline this season when the Italian was recovering from gallbladder surgery.Conte won league titles in his previous three spells in club management at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan, but was unable to end Tottenham’s 15-year wait to win a major trophy. His contract was due to expire at the end of the season. Conte labelled his players “selfish” and accused them of not being able to perform under pressure in an extraordinary tirade after the draw against Southampton. He also took aim at Tottenham’s long trophy drought and pinned the blame on a culture of repeatedly changing managers. Conte arrived at Spurs in November 2021 with the reputation of a ruthless serial winner who could transform the fortunes of a club whose last English league title was in 1961.There was an initial impact as an upturn in form in the second half of last season saw Spurs edge out north London rivals Arsenal to finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League. However, there is a 20-point gap between the two this season as the Gunners close in on a first league title in 19 years.1.88 – Tottenham averaged 1.88 points per game in the Premier League under Antonio Conte (P56 W32 D9 L15), the second highest figure for any Spurs manager (min. 38 games in charge):1.89 – Pochettino1.88 – Conte1.83 – Villas-Boas1.74 – Redknapp1.64 – MourinhoArrivederci. pic.twitter.com/hzUKWd63XR— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 26, 2023 Conte’s time in north London was also blighted by personal tragedy and ill-health. Gian Piero Ventrone, a long time member of Conte’s staff as a fitness coach, died suddenly in October. Two close friends and former players, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Gianluca Vialli, have also died in recent months. Conte had to undergo emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder last month, which forced him to take two spells away from the touchline to recover. But his return did not have the desired effect in galvanising his players, who had lost 1-0 to second-tier Sheffield United in the FA Cup fifth round in his absence. Spurs crashed out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage after a disappointing 1-0 aggregate defeat to AC Milan.Levy reportedly became concerned about Conte’s mood swings this season. There were claims the squad were tired of their manager’s acerbic tongue, while fans bemoaned his perceived negative tactics. The chairman would surely have preferred to keep Conte to avoid the upheaval triggered by a coaching change at such a critical time of the season. But the manager’s stinging criticism of his underachieving stars made his relationship with Levy more tricky.##NAJAVA_MECA_7126031##To some, it appeared Conte was so fed up with Tottenham’s inconsistency that his remarkable rant was an act of self-immolation designed to force his exit. The club were dumped out of both the FA Cup and Champions League earlier this month as Conte’s problems spiralled. Long-time Conte watchers have grown accustomed to the Italian’s habit of blaming his employers for his teams’ problems. Despite his success, his spells at Chelsea and Inter ended over transfer rows. At Tottenham, there was not even any silverware to make his rants more palatable.© Agence France-Presse
