Former Inter director Ernesto Paolillo has shared his belief that Inter manager Antonio Conte’s most recent public outburst was calculated.
“There may be moments of contrast but everything must be done inside the club and not outside it. I asked myself why, since Conte is very intelligent and knows that there are consequences,” he explained in an interview with Italian radio station TMW Radio, the radio station of Italian news outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, yesterday afternoon.
“It was something calculated and premeditated. I am inclined to think that he has another team that wants him. Otherwise he wouldn’t bring things to the point of a breakdown. Those statements leave their mark. ”
Next Paolillo was asked if he was in favor of dismissing Conte.
“No because I respect Conte but I would ask for a direct meeting and I would not respond to the media, just to not make the same mistake as Conte.”
He was then asked whether the outburst was directed more at Inter president Steven Zhang, who has not been in Italy in four months, or club chief executive Giuseppe ‘Beppe’ Marotta.
“I think it was more towards the management than towards the ownership. There has already been controversy over the unsatisfactory transfer market. Inter threw away a great opportunity this year. Inter could have fought for the title until the end. I think maybe someone has thrown this in Conte’s face.”
Paolillo then went on to discuss how former Inter manager Jose Mourinho was managed with the Portuguese also well known for speaking his mind and how things were handled back then.
“He was very professional, he also had moments when he complained but he always did it in a managerial way. He called Moratti or me and asked for meetings with the other managers because he had things to say.
“We knew that he knew how to defend the team perfectly against any type of accusation. When Mourinho told us he would go away, he never spoke until the end of the Champions League.”
In conclusion Paolillo was asked if he think the relationship between Inter and Conte will come to an end just one year into a three year contract.
“Conte is intelligent, he knows the consequences of what he has done. If he doesn’t go away, something has broken.
“He is so intelligent that he knows that the consequence is to have to find another team. It is difficult to patch up the hole after what happened. Whoever created the chaos goes away. We also saw it in my time with Mancini. It is a film already seen many times.”
Paolillo served as a club director in the mid-2000s to the early 2010s and was with the club during a highly successful period in its history, including the historic treble winning 2009/10 season. Since leaving Inter in September 2012, he has not held any other positions in football.
