Conte guns for 鈥榝ake, little man鈥 Mourinho
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Antonio Conte called Jose Mourinho a 鈥渓ittle man鈥 and 鈥渇ake鈥 before issuing an apparent challenge as the feud between two of the Premier League鈥檚 most high-profile managers intensified on Saturday.
Tensions were already simmering after two days of back-and-forth insults between the pair in news conferences.
Mourinho, the Manchester manager, started the spat on Thursday by saying he did not feel the need to behave like 鈥渁 clown鈥 on the touchline. Feeling that was a dig at him, Conte, the Chelsea manager, responded aggressively on Friday by suggesting Mourinho was suffering from dementia because of the Portuguese鈥檚 behavior on the touchline earlier in his coaching career.
Mourinho then came out with the most explosive retort so far late on Friday, saying he will never be 鈥渟uspended for match-fixing.鈥 Conte served a four-month touchline ban in 2012 for failing to report his knowledge of an incident of attempted match-fixing during his time as Siena manager in 2011.
The Italian was acquitted of any wrongdoing over the matter in 2016.
Conte鈥檚 latest dig at Mourinho came after Chelsea鈥檚 0-0 draw at Norwich in the third round of the FA Cup. And it set up a potentially explosive meeting between the two coaches when United hosts Chelsea on February 25 in the Premier League. 鈥淭he situation is very clear. I don鈥檛 have anything to clarify,鈥 Conte said. 鈥淚t will be the opportunity in the game against United when we go to Old Trafford. Me and him, face to face. I鈥檓 ready. I don鈥檛 know if he鈥檚 ready.鈥
Conte, 48, seemed unhappy with the 54-year-old Mourinho bringing up his past.
鈥淚 consider him a little man, I consider him a man with a very low profile,鈥 Conte said. 鈥淲hen there are these types of comments, before (making them) you have to know very well the truth. Before you make this type of comment, before to hurt another person, you must pay great attention. You show you are a little man. I know him very well in the past. In the past, he was a little man in many circumstances, is a little man in the present and, for sure, he will be a little man in the future.鈥
Conte was more scathing about Mourinho鈥檚 behavior, providing the example of Mourinho attending a news conference wearing a training top with the initials 鈥淐R鈥 following Claudio Ranieri鈥檚 firing by Leicester in February last year.
鈥淗e offended (criticized) Ranieri for his English,鈥 Conte said. 鈥淭hen when Ranieri was sacked (fired), he put on a shirt (with initials on) for Ranieri. You are a fake.
鈥淚f you want to fight a person, you try to kill this person. And then after two years, you try to help this person, because maybe it鈥檚 good for you, for your profile.鈥
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