Will Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas Be Latest to Wreck Antonio Conte’s 4-4-2 Dreams?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or perhaps joined Kimmy Schmidt in her Durnsville-based bunker for a time, you’ll be conscious of the fact that as soon as Italy exit UEFA Euro 2016 this summer, Antonio Conte will assume managerial control of Chelsea football club.

Now, for a team with a lot of issues to sort out—as there always is after a Jose Mourinho spell in charge—that’s hardly ideal. And in the fast-paced, globalised football world we live in, many on the internet have attempted to make sense of Conte’s impending to-do list ahead of his arrival in order to quantify the extent of the problems.

John Terry’s future, the Eden Hazard situation, who on earth is going to play at left-back, which goalkeeper could feasibly be the No. 1 come next season…these are issues that can be tackled in some way in the here and now. Educated guesses can be made and information can be sought on exactly how these three storylines—among others—will pan out.

But there’s one thing we cannot forecast (accurately), and that’s the formation Conte will use. Even monitoring Italy like a hawk this summer won’t reveal much, as the former Juventus boss has changed formations throughout his career in order to suit his players; there’s no guarantee what fits the Azzurri will fit Chelsea in his eyes, and it’s actually pretty likely a new plan will need to be made.

So we trudge back through Conte’s managerial history to look for clues, and one key idea flashes up consistently: Despite being unable to utilise a 4-4-2 in most of his jobs, he has always looked to make it work if possible; he’s a big fan of the system and setup.

Yes, his 3-5-2 is famous for its success in Turin, but he always showed a want to switch to 4-4-2—particularly in the UEFA Champions League—but never managed to make it stick. It was simply that he could not ignore the strength of an Andrea Barzagli-Leonardo Bonucci-Giorgio Chiellini back three.

Five years ago, it would have been eye-popping (in a bad way) to see a foreign coach come to Chelsea and bring with him a system viewed as outdated in England, but post-FIFA World Cup 2014, the 4-4-2 has really picked up steam. Atletico Madrid, Leicester City, Villarreal, Milan and even Watford have used it to (varying) degrees of success in 2015-16, and it is no longer the antiquated formation it once was.

Really, the …

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