Soccer
Tottenham Manager Antonio Conte Moves the Trash-Talk to Social Media After Nearly Coming to Blows with Chelsea Skipper Thomas Tuchel
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterPublished14 Aug 2022
Tottenham Hotspur’s fiery Italian manager Antonio Conte and Chelsea’s (usually) stoic German boss Thomas Tuchel are two of the most famous gaffers in all of soccer. That’s why it was such big news when the two almost came to blows on the touchline in the final moments of a dramatic 2-2 draw between Spurs and Chelsea. After the game ended, though, cooler heads seemed to prevail. However, Conte couldn’t help but take one more shot at his rival coach on Instagram.
Antonio Conte vs. Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte never faced off until early 2022, shortly after former Chelsea manager Conte took over at Tottenham.
Chelsea won all three matches heading into Sunday’s clash.
The match between two of London’s heavyweight Premier League clubs lived up to the advanced billing.
Chelsea’s summer signing Kalidou Koulibaly put the home team ahead in the 19th minute. The game remained at 1-0 for nearly 40 minutes before Spurs’ Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg evened the score line in the 68th minute.
This goal came after an uncalled foul by Tottenham that enraged Tuchel. After the Hojbjerg strike, assistants had to separate Conte and Tuchel.
Chelsea went back ahead on Reece James’ 77th-minute strike, and Tuchel made a point to sprint all the way down the sideline, celebrating past a despondent Antonio Conte.
Finally, Tottenham’s Harry Kane dramatically rescued a point for Tottenham six minutes into stoppage time. During the post-match handshake between the two managers, Conte gripped Tuchel’s hand. The Chelsea manager grabbed it and wouldn’t let go. Conte tugged, turned, and started shouting, sparking a near-brawl between the two skippers and their teams.
Both managers drew red cards for the scene.
After the match, the fight seemed over, at least until the teams meet again in late February 2023. However, Conte doesn’t seem ready to let it go.
Late in England, after the game ended, Conte posted a video of Tuchel celebrating the James goal while running past his counterpart. Conte is covering his face and looking down after his team gave up the lead, so it seems he didn’t see Tuchel running.
Conte captioned the video, “Lucky I didn’t see you… making you trip would have been well deserved…” followed by three laughing emojis.
It’s highly unlikely that Tuchel will fire back on social media. But the next time these two sides play — be it in February or in a cup match before that — Spurs vs. Chelsea (and Tuchel vs. Conte) will be must-see TV.
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