Former Juventus striker Fabrizio Ravanelli believes that ex-teammate and current Inter coach Antonio Conte would have been a prolific goalscoring midfielder in today’s game.
Ravanelli led the line for Juventus from 1992 until 1996 and was a teammate of Conte at the Bianconeri, before moving to the Premier League with Middlesbrough.
Looking ahead to the Coppa Italia Semi-Final between the Bianconeri and Inter on Tuesday, Ravanelli claimed that Conte’s style as a player had transcended into his approach on the bench and was evident in his current Inter team.
The former Italy international also drew comparisons between Conte and current Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella, after the latter caught the eye with a strong performance against Fiorentina on Friday.
“Conte was always calm as a player, he worked hard and was always professional,” Ravanelli declared in an interview with Italian radio station Radio Deejay earlier today. “He is bringing his experience to his team with his style as a player.
“I would say that Barella is more dynamic than Conte was, but Conte had some important goals, such as in the Champions League and in the derby against Torino. If he had played today, he would perhaps have scored more than 10 goals per season.”
Conte scored 44 goals in 420 appearances for Juventus from 1991 until 2004, but never scored more than seven goals in a single campaign.