14 Jan 2016
Doha, 14 January 2016. Italian national team coach Antonio Conte recently visited Aspire Academy to take part in a lively and engaging panel discussion initiated by the “Aspire in the World Fellows” program and attended by a number of sports leaders from Qatar, players from the QSL, representatives from Aspire Academy and the Qatar Football Association as well former Brazilian Star Roberto Carlos amongst others.
During the discussion, Conte praised the performance of Qatar’s U23 national team in their opening match against China in the 2016 AFC U23 Championship. Based on the team’s performance during that game, he said they should have every confidence in securing a top three finish and qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympics. In particular, Conte commended the success of Aspire Academy and the Qatar Football Association for preparing and developing such leading athletes and supporting the development of players with the potential to achieve real success in the future.
During the session, Conte also praised Argentine legend Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane, recently appointed as coach at Real Madrid, describing them as amongst the greatest players of their generation and true leaders in the teams they played with. The broad ranging panel discussion also covered the role of coaching technology in the modern game during which Conte highlighted the benefits of collecting data including body temperature and analysing the performance of each player when managing a team playing at the highest level.
In describing his experience as coach of the Italian national team, Conte highlighted the enormous privilege and honour this confers – but also described the pressure that comes from representing the hopes of an entire nation.