With Antonio Conte the odds-on favourite to become the next Chelsea manager, what do we know about the Italy manager? Sky Sports News HQ understands Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo travelled to Italy on Tuesday and will be present at Juventus Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich, which Conte is also due to attend. Ousmane Dembele Jersey . Conte on his way? Sky Bets next Chelsea manager odds SSN HQ are currently investigating the claim the Italy coach has agreed a two-year deal to become the permanent successor to Jose Mourinho, but what could we expect from the 46-year-old Italian if he was to take over at Stamford Bridge? Conte had success at Juventus before becoming Italy manager after the World Cup in 2014 Managerial historyContes playing career came to an end in 2004 after making over 300 appearances for Juventus and earning 20 caps for Italy before becoming assistant manager at Siena for the 2005/06 season. Conte odds-on for Chelsea job Italy boss favourite to take over from Guus Hiddink He was soon given his first managerial job at Serie B outfit Arezzo, beginning a turbulent 12 months which saw him sacked after three months, reinstated five months later, and relegated on the final day of the season into Serie C1 in May 2007.After a brief sabbatical, Conte was appointed Bari manager in December 2007, and having been under threat of relegation at the start of his stint, ended up comfortably in mid-table. He led them to promotion to Serie A in 2008/09, but did not take charge of a top flight game and left the club having initially signed a one-year contract extension. Sky Italias Valentina Fass says Chelsea have held talks with Antonio Conte about becoming their new boss, but the deal hasnt been finalised just yet He was then appointed boss of Serie A side Atalanta in September 2009, winning just three of his 14 games in charge and leaving the following January, before dropping a division to guide Siena to the top flight for the 2010/11 season. Conte then began a three-year stint at Juventus, which saw him win Serie A in each season, as well as the Supercoppa in 2012 and 2013. In Europe, Conte led Juve to the Champions League quarter-finals in 2012/13, but did not get past the group stages the following season.His domestic success at Juventus led Conte to the national side after Cesare Prandellis departure following a poor World Cup in Brazil, tasked with stabilising the side ahead of Euro 2016.Italy won Group H ahead of Croatia, Norway, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Malta, winning seven and drawing three out of 10 games. Italy topped their Euro Qualifiers group, going unbeaten in all 10 games Six of those wins came by a one-goal margin, and the Azzurri now face Belgium, Republic of Ireland and Sweden in Group E at the tournament in France.How likely is it Conte will be appointed?Contes contract with Italy expires after the 2016 European Championships in the summer and he will be free to move to Stamford Bridge, with no compensation needed to be paid to the Italian Football Federation. Sky Italias Valentina Fass told Sky Sports News HQ that Conte had been linked with Chelsea for some time and a deal between the two was close to being agreed before Christmas. We know that Chelsea want to decide who their manager for next year will be by March, she told Sky Sports News HQ. Interim manager Guus Hiddink is in charge until the end of the season at Chelsea Conte seems to be ahead in the talks. Nothing has been decided yet, but maybe a contract has been put down.There are still other contenders. [Diego] Simeone, even though it looks like he wants to stay at Atletico, is one of the names on the list still, and also [Massimiliano] Allegri, Juventus manager, is on the list.Rebuilding the BridgeMake no mistake, this summer will be a rebuilding job at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea having dropped from champions to mid-table. However, Conte has the relevant experience on his CV.He revived struggling teams at Arezzo, Bari, Atalanta and Siena, but his work at Juventus stands out the most. Conte won Serie A three times in a row during his three seasons at Juve Having finished in seventh in 2010/11, Conte took over from Luigi Delneri and led Juve to the league title without a single defeat, the first club to do so in Italian history.Conceding just 20 goals in 38 games, it was their first official league title since 2003 after being stripped of two Serie A crowns for their involvement in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal.Tactics-wise, Conte is not restricted to his 3-5-2 formation, used predominantly at Juventus and with Italy. He has been known to switch to 4-3-3 successfully, a flexibility which has seen him lose just 18 games in his 167 as a manager since starting at Juventus in 2011.Sky in Italy reporter Gianluca Di Marzio believes rather than shoehorning players into his system, Conte would adapt his system according to the players capabilities. Arturo Vidal (L) and Paul Pogba (R) were brought to Juventus under Conte In a column on his website earlier this week, Di Marzio said: As Conte himself has said many times, he believes a good manager adapts to the personnel he has and not the other way around.Conte was equally impressive in the transfer market, and despite some inevitable misses, hits included Andrea Pirlo (free), Paul Pogba (free), Carlos Tevez (£6.75m), Arturo Vidal (£9.4m) and Stephan Lichtsteiner (£7.5m). During his three seasons at Juve, Conte never spent over £15m on a player.What theyve saidI am extremely lucky I met Antonio Conte, I had so many coaches to compare him too, and he is the one who surprised me the most. I was expecting a good coach, but not that good. - Andrea Pirlo, 2014, in I Think, Therefore I Play autobiography. Andrea Pirlo says he is lucky to have played under Conte The secret of our success is the ambition our coach has. Conte has brought a new mentality to the club. He has pushed us to sweat, to find strength and to undergo hard work in order to cancel out the last two disappointing campaigns. - Gianluigi Buffon, 2012[Contes] 3-5-2 is the best in history. Hes the only coach who doesnt play a 5-3-2. But he struggles against opponents with good wingers, who are able to switch play quickly. Big teams dont have any problems doing that. You cant dominate or set a trend with 3-5-2. - Zvonimir Boban, 2014, former Milan midfielder Also See: Conte odds-on for Chelsea job Mikel wants Hiddink to stay Allegri wants to stay at Juve Hiddink: Hazard getting there Custom Barcelona Jerseys . The football club recently announced an increase in season ticket prices in five of the seven categories at Investors Group Field for 2014. While most increases are in the two to three per cent range, the clubs most affordable season tickets will jump from $199 to $250 — a 26 per cent leap. Jordi Alba Jersey . Villa has already confirmed his short-term deal and the Daily Mirror reported early Tuesday that Lampard will join him as both build up match fitness ahead of moves to the new Major League Soccer franchise New York City. http://www.fcbarcelonapro.com/Kids-Philippe-Coutinho-Jersey/ . First, the Red Wings scored the tying goal after officials missed the puck hitting the protective netting, then the Kings wound up losing in a shootout. That could affect playoff positioning in the Eastern and Western Conferences, and thats a concern for everyone.SAN DIEGO -- Cuban rookie Odrisamer Despaigne is undefeated in his two starts with the San Diego Padres, a small bright spot in a season that otherwise has gone so wrong. Again using an assortment of breaking pitches and arm angles, the 27-year-old Despaigne outdueled fellow rookie Michael Bolsinger to win his second straight start as the Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 Sunday to pop out of their one-day stay in last place in the NL West. Cameron Maybin keyed the two-run fourth inning for San Diego, which scored their most runs in four games. "Hes got a nice pulse to him," manager Bud Black said of Despaigne, who defected last summer. "Our heartbeats down. He doesnt get fazed. Working his way through a 2 1/2 hour work day, he is pretty composed and clear-thinking. This guy knows how to pitch." Despaigne (2-0) held Arizona to one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings, walking four and striking out two. He is the sixth Padres pitcher to win his first two starts, and the seventh San Diego pitcher overall to get a win in his first two appearances. In his big league debut last Monday at San Francisco, he held the Giants to four hits in seven shutout innings, striking out one and walking none in a 1-0 win. Despaigne allowed three of the first four Arizona batters to reach base, but allowed only one run. Leadoff batter Ender Inciarte beat out an infield single and stole second before Paul Goldschmidt walked. Miguel Montero singled in Inciarte before Despaigne got Aaron Hill to fly out to centre and struck out Martin Prado to strand runners on first and third. "He wasnt stressed a great deal last week in San Francisco," Black said. "He was stressed there in the first and hung in there. It was good that he didnt let that second run score. His heartbeats pretty good. He knows his game. He knows what he can do with the ball." Despaigne, who signed a minor league contract with the Padres on May 2, said he felt good in making his first start at Petco Park. "I was excited to pitch here in front of the fans," he said through interpreter Yasmani Grandal, who caught both of his starts. "We had lost two games so I wanted to get that win for us. "I felt good," said Despaigne, who played eight seasons with the Havana Industriales of Cubas Serie Nacional. "My breaking pitches were outside the zone so I had to make adjustments and I got it through. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Jersey. " Grandal said he told Despaigne the same thing he did in San Francisco: "Make sure you dont shake me off. He did that the first six innings and at the end he wanted to throw something else. Youve got to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he wants to pitch his own game for an inning, hey, Ill give him that." The right-hander retired the first two batters in the sixth before allowing consecutive singles and making way for Kevin Quackenbush, who struck out pinch-hitter Roger Kieschnick to end the inning. Despaigne got the Diamondbacks to hit into three double plays. "A lot of deception," manager Kirk Gibson said. "We had some opportunities. Hes thrown two games and hes given up one run. Hes doing something right." The Padres scored their most runs in four games. Through 81 games, they had scored one or fewer runs 27 times. They swapped places with the Diamondbacks, who had leapfrogged the Padres into fourth place after winning 3-1 Saturday night. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 21st save in as many chances. The Padres scored twice in the fourth on two hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly off Bolsinger (1-4). Chase Headley drew a leadoff walk, advanced on Tommy Medicas one-out single to left and scored on Maybins double down the right-field line. Medica scored on Alexi Amaristas sac fly. Bolsinger allowed two runs and three hits in six innings, struck out six and walked four. "Since I have been up here I prided myself on not walking people," Bolsinger said. "Kind of like the San Francisco game, where the one walk I gave up, the run scored. So, I just have to try to eliminate that. Besides that, everything else was pretty good." NOTES: Nick Ahmed was selected from Triple-A Reno before the game and made his big league debut for the Diamondbacks, starting at SS and batting eighth. He grounded into a double play in his first at-bat and got his first big league hit, a single, in the seventh. ... The Padres open a three-game series against Cincinnati on Monday night, when former San Diego ace Mat Latos (1-0, 2.89) is scheduled to start against rookie Jesse Hahn (3-1, 2.38). ... The Diamondbacks are off Monday before opening a three-game series at Pittsburgh on Tuesday, when the scheduled starters are Wade Miley (3-6, 4.78) against Jeff Locker (1-1, 3.74) in a matchup of lefties. Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Ducks Jerseys Cheap Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Bruins Jerseys Cheap Sabres Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys ' ' '