LONDON — So now, Antonio Conte awaits his fate. The Chelsea manager has placed the FA Cup in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet, but don’t expect it to be enough to keep him in a job.
Meanwhile Jose Mourinho will get another bite of the cherry at Manchester United despite the joyless atmosphere with which he’s beginning to infect Old Trafford, but Conte’s time is up in that classic way that it always is with a Chelsea manager under Roman Abramovich. At least the Italian was spared the fate of Louis van Gaal after overseeing Chelsea’s 1-0 FA Cup final victory over Mourinho’s United.
Two years ago, the Dutchman won the FA Cup for United — the club’s first trophy in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era — before being booed up the Wembley steps by a section of the team’s supporters who had grown tired of his negative football. Moments later, Van Gaal walked into the news conference, defiantly placed the trophy on the desk in front of him and then endured a barrage of questions about his future after revelations in the Spanish media earlier in the day that Mourinho had already been lined up to replace him.
Van Gaal blustered his way through a difficult 10 minutes, but the rumours were true. He was out, Mourinho was in and a distinguished coaching career had ended in public humiliation.
Conte faced the same questions about his future on Saturday but was at least cheered up the steps and serenaded by supporters singing his name. Not that it empowered him to speak with any confidence about his future.