Arrivederci Antonio: The Italian Job. A Chelsea thriller starring Antonio Conte: part two

Arrivederci Antonio is the second and final instalment of 2017s best-seller The Italian Job - A Chelsea thriller starring Antonio Conte (part one). During the process of guiding the Blues to the Premier League title in his first season as manager at Stamford Bridge, Conte had become a true man of the people revered by supporters who appreciated his tactical nous and applauded his passion for the game of football and determination to win. Basking in the glow of that title triumph, expectations among the fans were running high in the summer months. Champions League football was back on the agenda and a raft of major signings were being rumoured... star players who would enable Conte to take Chelsea to the next level. Something wasn't quite right though. The Italian was unhappy and he predicted that 2017/2018 would be the most difficult season of his career... he wasn't wrong

Arrivederci Antonio chronicles Conte's gut-wrenching and drawn out demise at the Bridge from a supporter's perspective. Alleged boardroom wrangling's, missed transfer targets, fall outs with the boys from Brazil, fall outs with Jose Mourinho, false 9 experiments, suffering without the ball, suffering with the ball, the search for the 'perfect game', embarrassing defeats... and one final two-fingers-up-at-the-world-style grandstand victory at Wembley make for the type of gloriously unpredictable rollercoaster ride that only Chelsea ever embark on.

Set against a backdrop of spectacular #ConteIn #ConteOut #ConteIn #ConteOut supporter spats on social media, Arrivederci Antonio is a unique and entertaining insight into the triumphs, disasters and conclusion of Antonio Conte's mind-bending reign as Chelsea manager.

Associated with sharing the experience of watching Chelsea Football Club, Mark has broadened the scope of his writing to embrace fiction, screenplays and journalism. He lives and works in Cheam and London... mostly.