Chelsea news: Notable Italians in Blue as Antonio Conte is announced as manager

More Gianluca Vialli than Sam Dalla Bona

Tom Sheen
Monday 04 April 2016 10:04 EDT
Comments
(Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Antonio Conte has become the latest in a long line of Italians at Chelsea.

Starting with Gianluca Vialli, signed just days after winning the Champions League with Juventus in May 1996, the Blues have long held a fascination with players and managers from the Mediterranean nation.

Conte, 46, will arrive at Stamford Bridge after leading the Italy national team at Euro 2016.

The 46-year-old has been out of club management since 2014, when he took the chance to manage the Azzurri after the World Cup, but lead Juventus to three successive Serie A titles with Juventus.

He has already identified former Blues striker Romelu Lukaku as a top target, while rumours suggest he wants to keep Diego Costa around.

Chelsea will be hoping Conte follows in the footsteps of Vialli and Gianfranco Zola rather than Samuele Dalla Bonna and Gabriele Ambrosetti.

Here, we look at some notable Italians from Chelsea's past:

Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in