5 reasons why Antonio Conte may be appointed Italy manager

#2 Squad connections

Conte knows the Juventus players well from his previous time there

As was previously mentioned, Conte has significant knowledge of the current players on offer for national selection. It was his Juventus defensive line that have formed the backbone of the Italy team for years now: Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, and Leonardo Bonucci have an incredible understanding together, and Conte understands them too.

Barzagli has now retired from international duty but Buffon and Chiellini were called up for the most recent friendlies despite stating they had retired previously, and the idea of linking up with their former manager for one last tournament campaign may prove quite tempting.

Bonucci, then, will become the main stalwart of the defense, a player Conte always enjoyed a strong relationship with. Aside from the Juventus men, Conte currently coaches Davide Zappacosta at Chelsea, a good candidate to be Italy's number one right-back.

Players like Matteo De Sciglio, Antonio Candreva, and Ciro Immobile remain from his Euro 2016 squad, but are in far better form than they were back then, particularly Lazio's free-scoring Immobile. After the unfortunate campaign under Ventura, who had no connection with his players, getting Conte might just be the smart move.