Antonio Conte has launched extraordinary attacks on Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, going as far as to suggest that the Manchester United manager has ‘demenza senile’, Italian for senile dementia.
Conte’s comments come after Mourinho said on Thursday:
“Because I don’t behave as a clown on the touchline, it means that I lost my passion?”
That comments was believed to be aimed at Conte and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, and Conte was furious saying:
‘I think that he has to see himself in the past, maybe he was speaking about himself in the past, yeah?
‘Maybe sometimes I think that someone forget what they said in the past or which is his behaviours and sometimes I think there is, I don’t know the name, demenza senile, when you are a bit, when you forget what you do in the past.’
Carlo Cudicini, who acts as an occasional translator for Conte at his press conferences, claimed he meant to say ‘amnesia’ rather than senile dementia.
Conte also had barbed words for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after his claim that Eden Hazard dived to win a penalty in their 2-2 draw on Wednesday.
‘I think if Arsene Wenger watched the game again, understand that he was very lucky during the game for refereeing decisions,’ he said.
‘I think that Wenger forgets that in the last few games we finish the game with 10 men when they won FA Cup and Community Shield and I think the referee decisions were a bit strange, you understand?
‘I can talk, if I want I can talk about referee decision for one month but I don’t want to do this because we must have respect for the decision.
‘Also Wenger tries to find this way like other coaches and it is not good. You have to accept the decision. He is an old coach, he has experience, he won a lot, he has to continue to do what he did in the past.
‘For the other situation I am repeating. There is a person (Mourinho) who continues to look here (at Chelsea). He went away but continues to look here.’
