He played for Italy at the European championships in the summer of 2000 and then he started my second season in charge of Juventus as part of my first-choice team – in fact he got a last minute equaliser against Milan at San Siro in October, a really important goal. In the January he got injured and was out the team a lot in the second half of that second season I spent at Juventus but we always felt his influence. All the time he was watching and learning. I knew that he was going to be a coach one day.

There are certain things that he will not compromise on, and it will be the same when he comes to Chelsea. He wants all his players to follow him, and he wants a good team spirit. He is not afraid to tell the media what he thinks of their opinions either. In Conte’s philosophy, you are either with the team or you’re against them. There is no middle ground.