Top 10 players who have played under Antonio Conte

In the current decade, former Italy and Juventus legend - Antonio Conte has stamped his name as one of the best upcoming managers. He has earned a place between the likes of Ancelotti, Guardiola, and Mourinho as one of the best tacticians in the current age of football.

Antonio Conte rose to prominence as he masterminded the Bianconeri renaissance in Turin, thereafter moving to Chelsea and winning the league title with Chelsea FC.

The Italian remains one of the only five managers to win the Premier League in his first ever season in England. Considering the competition with the likes of Wenger, Guardiola, Mourinho, and Klopp, Conte came out as the ultimate best in England last year.

However, a manager always becomes great, courtesy of the players he works with. It's his duty to bring out the best in his players. In his two spells with Juventus and Chelsea, the Italian has had quite an amount of world-class talent at his disposal.

Here are ten of the best players who have worked with the Italian in his short yet incredibly successful managerial career.

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#10: Diego Costa (Chelsea)

Conte and Costa are facing a rocky relationship at Chelsea

Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa made his name after banging in goals week in week out for Atletico Madrid, and Jose Mourinho was quick enough to snatch the talented forward in 2014.

Diego Costa was thought to be the perfect replacement for the mercurial Didier Drogba at Stamford Bridge. After proving himself under Mourinho, the striker was scoring goals for fun in Chelsea's title-winning 2016-17 campaign. He scored 22 goals in a total of 42 matches for Chelsea, becoming the spearhead of Conte's attack.

Diego Costa invited after being on a poor run of form that totally wrecked Chelsea under Jose Mourinho. However, the Spaniard found himself hitting form following Conte's appointment as the head coach. He improved his average goal tally to 0.57 from 0.43 in Chelsea's title-winning 2016-17 campaign. Also, Costa proved to be a major threat in set-pieces, scoring an average of 0.20 goals per game to his 0.07 tally in the season 2015-16.

Costa also emerged as Chelsea's top scorer with 20 goals as the Blues lifted the Premier League title. He also won a personal accolade for the Premier League Player of the Month in November 2016.

However, the relationship between Conte and Costa has totally gone down the drain this year, with the Spaniard warming Chelsea's benches after falling out with the manager. He will leave for former-club Atletico Madrid in January.

Although a healthy relationship would have benefited Chelsea a lot more this season, it is a point of debate as to whether Costa is, in fact, one of the best players to have played under Antonio Conte.

#9: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)

Kante's signing was proved to be a vital decision for Chelsea

He might be a diminutive midfielder, but Kante played a crucial part in Leicester City's title-winning campaign. Sure enough, the Frenchman was snapped up by Antonio Conte on his arrival for a £32 million fee in 2016. Needless to say, Kante was a revelation last season as Chelsea lifted the Premier League title.

The 26-year-old formed a formidable partnership with Serbian powerhouse Nemanja Matic in the centre of the park. Also, he is always an influence in the big games in Premier League.

Under Conte's reign, the Frenchman saw a drastic improvement in his passing abilities. Kante averaged to 60.6 passes per game compared to 39.2 in his title-winning season with Leicester City. On the attacking front, averaged 0.8 shots per game to 0.6 with Leicester City.

Apart from the League title, the Frenchman has been the best gift from Conte to the Stamford Bridge. In the coming years, he will certainly act as the new Makelele for the Londoners in their bid to win a second Champions League title. Kante also won the Chelsea Players' 'Player of the Year' in his debut season with the Blues.

#8: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)

Conte transformed Bonucci into one of the best defenders of the current era

In Antonio Conte's road to glory with the Bianconeri, Italian defender Leonardo Bonucci was a crucial aspect in the heart of a three-man defence alongside Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli. The trio established themselves as one of the best defensive lines in Europe under the Italian mastermind.

Christened as 'Beckenbonucci' in comparison to the legendary Franz Beckenbauer, the Azzurri defender excels on many fronts such as technique, passing, aerial prowess and precise tackling. With strong leadership skills at his disposal, Bonucci proved to be a commanding presence at the back.

Also, Bonucci is a versatile player who can play in the centre as well as in wide positions. Playing in a central position in a 3-4-3 formation, the Italian defender was given the role of a sweeper. As a result, Bonucci's free role allowed him to be an extra source of creativity with Andrea Pirlo.

In his three seasons with the Italian manager, he contributed to five titles and also made it to the UEFA Europa League squad of the season in season 2013-14. Also, Bonucci was a major part of Italy's defence under Antonio Conte.

#7: Arturo Vidal (Juventus)

Conte would like to have Arturo Vidal in all the teams he manages in his career

If you ever need a warrior on the pitch, no one can do the job better than Arturo Vidal. Over the last few years, the tough-tackling Chilean has established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.

Arturo Vidal is another footballer who rose to prominence alongside Frenchman Paul Pogba at Juventus under Antonio Conte. The Chilean was the required midfield rock, around which Juventus built their title-winning team. His exploits in Italy were enough for Bayern Munich to snap him up in after his successful spell at Turin.

In his three years with Antonio Conte, the duo won 5 trophies together. The Italian tactician must be proud of himself for creating a hugely influential player like the rugged and tough Chilean.

#6: Paul Pogba (Juventus)

Antonio Conte is credited with bringing the best out of Paul Pogba in his formative years

If Paul Pogba does make it to the pantheon of the greatest footballers ever to play the game, It would be the best appreciation for Antonio Conte's skills in developing youngsters.

Paul Pogba is, by far, a walking tribute to the Italian's skill as a master tactician. The Frenchman arrived at Juventus a frustrated 19-year-old for free in 2012. Over a tenure of two years, Pogba honed his skills and developed under the watchful eye of Antonio Conte during their two years together at the club.

Sure enough, the midfielder made Manchester United regret their decision to let him go on a Bosman transfer. Pogba caused ripples with his eye-catching performances as the Red Devils redeemed themselves after playing a world-record £89 million deal to bring him back to England in 2016.

Together, both of them won three trophies at Juventus. At present, Pogba and Conte are rivals in the Premier League. However, the Frenchman owes a lot to the Italian for making him the world-class player that he is today.

#5: Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

Conte and Chiellini have worked together for both Juventus and the Italy national team

In his eleven years at the club starting from 2005, Giorgio Chiellini has been an instrumental part of the club in the Bianconeri's resurgence as the best team in Italy.

A versatile defender who can play as a centre-back as well as a left-back, the Italian defender is known for his no-nonsense style of play and is fondly known as King Kong due to his tough tackling and vivid goal celebrations. He is bound to take the captain's arm-band after Gianluigi Buffon retires. Currently, he serves as the vice-captain to the club.

Along with Bonucci and Barzagli, Chiellini formed a three-man defence that was perhaps the biggest reason why Juventus were able to kickstart their return to the pedestal of Italian football. His experience has served him greatly as he helped in shoring up the backline.

Conte and Chiellini together achieved 5 trophies at the club. The pair were reunited again when Conte took charge of the Azzurri from 2014 to 2016. He is arguably one of the best footballers managed by the Italian maestro.

#4: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Hazard makes the cut as one of the top ten best players in football at present

Belgian winger Eden Hazard has got to go down as Chelsea's best signing in the past decade. The winger has been pivotal in the Londoner's hunt for glory since his arrival in 2012.

Conte and Hazard are midway in their second year together at the club. Together, they helped the Blues stamp their supremacy by winning the Premier League last season.

Hazard's monstrous pace along with his gifted vision make him an inevitable player to have in any of Europe's top clubs. His exploits haven't gone unnoticed, with Real Madrid already planning a swoop for the 26-year-old as a replacement for Welshman Gareth Bale. Hazard clearly makes the cut as one of the top ten best players currently active in the football world.

The Belgian showed a terrific improvement after his slump in the season 2015-16. Hazard scored 16 goals in Conte's first season to only 4 in Mourinho's last. Also, he created 89 chances and made five assists under the Italian. In the season 2015-16, he created only 66 chances and made just three assists, falling prey to criticism from the fans and media.

Conte's reign has also seen Chelsea's provocateur-in-chief improving drastically in his defensive duties. The 26-year-old made 28 interceptions compared to his count of 12 under Mourinho.

In 2017, the Belgian won his fourth PFA Player of the Year award under the master Italian. Albeit both have played for a short span of just a year and a half, a few would disagree with the fact that Hazard remains one of the best players to be coached by Antonio Conte.

#3: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)

Conte and Del Piero have been friends since their playing days at Juventus

When one-club men are brought in question to compare their loyalties against each other, veteran striker Alessandro Del Piero eclipses them all. There have been players like Ryan Giggs and Paolo Maldini who have been with the club through all the dark times, Del Piero is a mile ahead of them all.

The legendary striker's loyal decision to stay at Turin after Juventus were relegated to Serie B is already the stuff of legend in the Old Lady's history books. What made him shine brighter was the fact that he decided to stay when the other stars turned their backs on the club.

A celebrated striker with a penchant for scoring legendary goals, Del Piero is one of the most decorated players of the Azzurri. He and Antonio Conte together oversaw a successful era at the club as teammates. However, their relationship as a player-manager was relatively cut short in a year after the forward moved to the United States to see out his playing days.

Yet, a league title in six years was the best way in which Antonio Conte could offer a parting gift to his teammate, player, and an old friend.

#2: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

Buffon has been manning the posts for Juventus since 2001

Regarded as one of the top two best goalkeepers of the generation along with Iker Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon has rightly cemented his place as one of the best keepers ever to play the game.

The veteran now already in his forties, was lucky enough to see the resurgence of Juventus and their rise to glory. The six-feet-three-inch tall shot-stopper has loyally manned the posts for the Bianconeri since 2001, a whopping 17 years!

It was last in the season 2005-06 season when the legend lifted a league title. Conte's arrival saw him start a streak of six years being a league champion. Although he won only three of them with his mastermind countryman, it would have been an enriching experience to play for a coach who was once his senior teammate at the club.

There's just one big regret though. A player of Buffon's stature has been deprived of a Champions League trophy for his entire career. Albeit he did reach the finals in 2015 and 2017, destiny has always thought otherwise. Perhaps he would have been able to win it with Conte in charge at the club.

Together, both Conte and Buffon are regarded as the pillars who oversaw the beginning of a golden era at Turin, winning five trophies together in Conte's three-year spell.

#1: Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)

Pirlo was undoubtedly the best player Conte has managed in his entire career

Remember that famous 'Panenka' penalty versus Joe Hart in the Euro 2012? Apparently, England were already leading 2-1 when the 'Architect' just chipped the ball in the middle of the net as Hart as Hart lay cleverly bamboozled after diving to his right.

The confidence of Andrea Pirlo with taking risks at a crucial stage proved why he is rightly regarded as one of the all-time greats.

Had the penalty misfired, Italy would have slumped by three goals to one. But this is Andrea Pirlo we are talking about, the man who is simply perfection personified. What else would you say to a man who was relaxing on a PlayStation in the afternoon and won a World Cup in the evening on the same day?

The first best thing Conte ever did was roping in the Architect on a free in 2011. Needless to say, he reaped handsome benefits as Pirlo became the creative lynchpin in the Old Lady's renaissance. Like wine, Andrea Pirlo was getting better and better with age.

His creative passing and inch-perfect free kicks had the Bianconeri supporters on their toes on many occasions. Together they won five trophies in a short span of three years, as Juventus kickstarted another era of glory in the football world.