Juventus coach Antonio Conte has broken his silence for the first time since he was banned for failing to report an attempt to fix a game while he was in charge of Siena. Conte, who is unable to sit on the touchline during Juve games until Dec. 9, hasn’t spoken to the media while he serves his ban. Instead, he decided to participate in a Web chat with Bianconeri fans. The following are a few highlights. 

“I say to those who judge me that they should try to live one day as a guilty man when you are in fact innocent,” Conte said. “It is inevitable that I miss the contact with the players and the fans. I’ve had to triple my workload as a consequence. … But I have excellent collaborators and responsible players. Excellent professionals who help me a lot. I’ve been able to get into their heads, but I miss the pitch a lot.”

Responding to the end of Juve’s 49-game unbeaten run, which ended when Inter Milan won 3-1 at the Juventus Stadium, Conte said: “We were less intense than usual against Inter. The defeat made us understand that we have to always play with intensity. I have to compliment Inter though, they’ll fight for the title with us.”