The Conte show comes to Chelsea

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Jul 14, 2016

Antonio Conte  was hired as the new Chelsea manager with one goal in mind: Win back the English Premier League title that the Blues last one in 2015.

The flamboyant Italian plans on igniting Chelsea with the same enthusiasm he showed at Euro 2016, where he led the Azzurri -- the other Blues -- to the quarterfinals.

"We are underrated a bit, and might slip under the radar," Conte said of Chelsea, "but I hope there's a small flame flickering here that can hopefully grow into a blazing inferno."

Conte isn't the first Italian to manage Chelsea. Gianluca Vialli, Claudio Ranieri, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Di Matteo, though Ancelotti in 2010 is the only Italian to lead the Blues to an EPL title. The other three were won by Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, who lost his job in December, just six months removed from Chelsea's fourth EPL title.

It finished 10th in the EPL, putting it out of Europe for the season at hand.

"We must think about the present," Conte said in his introductory press conference on Thursday. "We must stay there at the end of the season, to fight for the title and be there for the Champions League. Chelsea belongs in the Champions League, and we must stay there."

You should expect to see the same man running up and down the coaching area that you saw in France during the European Championship.

"I have passion and I want to transfer my passion to my players, also to my fans," he said. "I suffer during the game and I want my players to see this. I fight with all my strength to reach with my players the habit of the final victory. This is a great challenge."