OPINION
Antonio Conte enjoyed a sensational debut season in England as he guided Chelsea to their fifth Premier League crown but it is highly unlikely that things will go so smoothly for the Blues next season.
The Italian boss managed to win back to back titles during his time with Serie A giants Juventus but no team has managed to achieve the feat in nearly eight years.
Here, This is Futbol takes a look at the three main reasons why Conte will not be retaining their league title with Chelsea next season:
Champions League football
Recently, it has been an uphill task for Premier League teams to compete in the Champions League and maintain a domestic title challenge at the same time.
Chelsea were very fortunate that they were not involved in Europe last season which meant that the same eleven players virtually featured from the start on a weekly basis.
Playing twice a week does eventually take its toll during the campaign as former champions Leicester City found out last season as they only won two Premier League matches after midweek Champions League group stage action.
Conte is going to need to find the right balance and most importantly, he will need the whole squad to play a crucial part next season.
Past history
History is not on Chelsea’s side when it comes to teams retaining the Premier League.
Sir Alex Ferguson was the last manager in the English top flight to retain the league title with Manchester United way back in the 2008-09 season.
Jose Mourinho managed to achieve the feat in his first spell at the club but he found out how difficult it was during the 2015-16 season when he failed to motivate his players the second time around and ultimately paid the price and he was sacked by the club just four months into the new campaign.
Interestingly enough, the previous three Premier League winning managers have all been sacked from their positions – Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini.
The second season syndrome is very hard to overcome and Conte is set to face a huge challenge next season.
3-4-3 will be countered
When he first arrived, Conte decided to stick to the club’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation but when things weren’t going to plan, the Italian changed to three at the back which saw Chelsea’s run of form change for the better.
The Italian manager might need to do the same again with his 3-4-3 set-up next season as teams will spend much more time on the training pitch finding a way to counter the formation.
Last season, Mourinho showed the league how to stop Chelsea in their tracks as he instructed midfielder Ander Herrera to man mark star man Eden Hazard and the Belgian was completely anonymous throughout the entire match.
In the 2017 Fa Cup final, Arsenal decided to press the Premier League champions high up the pitch which worked to great effect as they left with the spoils on the day.
Conte is going to need to show flexibility in his tactics if Chelsea are going to win back-to-back titles for the first time since 2006.