Serie A News: Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni brands Antonio Conte as 'the Lionel Messi of coaches'

What’s the story?

Alessandro Bastoni has heaped praise on his Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte, branding him as 'the Lionel Messi of coaches.'

In case you didn’t know...

Italy Under-21 international Bastoni, who has already got Serie A experience under his belt after playing for Atalanta and spending the last season on loan at Parma, is yet to make his debut for Inter Milan. He signed for the club in 2017.

On the other hand, Conte has experienced a perfect start to his return to the Serie A, with Inter registering two wins in two games. Inter are currently sitting at the top of the table, owing to having a superior goal difference to Juventus and Torino. Although it is still too early to talk about a possible title challenge, Conte has certainly managed to send a message of intent to Inter's Serie A rivals, following the signings of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sánchez from Manchester United.

The heart of the matter

In a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Bastoni has branded his new Nerrazuzri boss as 'the Messi of coaches.' He said:

“Everyone had spoken highly of Conte and I’ve only received confirmation of how great he is. As far as I am concerned, Conte is the Messi of coaches.

“He is phenomenal, has exceptional footballing ideas and always wants to go on the attack. The training schedule is very tough indeed, but so was Gian Piero Gasperini when I played for Atalanta."

The 20-year-old continued,

“The difference was that we were training in China over the summer and the humidity was incredible, so I admit that did make me suffer a lot. But when the quality level goes up, you must raise your game to meet it.

“There’s no point denying it, we want to change the way the Serie A seasons have been going recently. We have the Coach and the squad to do that, but must prove it one game at a time.”

What’s next?

Inter Milan will next lock horns with Udinese on 14th September.