'Agnelli blocked Conte return to Juve'

By Football Italia staff

New Inter Coach Antonio Conte “wanted a return to Juventus, but the Agnelli family put a veto on it,” claims FIFA Council member Evelina Christillin.

The two teams face off this evening at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.

Conte was criticised for choosing to join their arch-rivals, having represented Juve as both a player and a Coach, with 15,000 fans signing a petition calling for his star to be removed from the Walk of Fame.

However, the situation could’ve been very different over the summer when Max Allegri and Luciano Spalletti were dismissed.

“We know Conte wanted a return to Juventus, but there were some very precise vetoes on his comeback. Let’s just say it was the family and the club that blocked it,” Christillin told the Corriere di Torino newspaper.

She is a business mogul in Turin, a long-time associate of the Agnelli family and a member of the FIFA Council since 2006.

“Conte is one of the best, he can get blood from a stone, even if now he’s working with a lot more than stones. I saw Inter’s performance against Barcelona and they played a superb match for 60 minutes.

“Conte is a symbol of Juve and Beppe Marotta was also an important figure in the Bianconeri history of the last few years. Our affection for them is unchanged, even if for a day they will be at least a little bit ‘enemies’ too.”

The Coach was furious at the idea of removing his star from the Allianz Juventus Stadium Walk of Fame.

“That would be entirely stupid, we have only to thank him and those who helped bring success to the club,” added Christillin.

“Of course Conte can win the Scudetto with Inter – the man took Italy to the European Championship quarter-finals with Simone Zaza and Graziano Pellè.”

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