Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has warned Chelsea to stay in line or risk the wrath of Antonio Conte, should the Italian step into the managerial hot seat at Stamford Bridge.
Conte is tipped to join Chelsea for the 2016-17 Premier League season after confirming he will vacate his Italy post following Euro 2016 in July.
Buffon knows Conte better than most, having worked with the 46-year-old former Juve coach at club and country level.
And Buffon has told the Chelsea squad to brace themselves for Conte’s hard-line stance.
“Conte is the boss of the dressing room,” Buffon told the Mirror.
“He is a coach who believes in discipline and rules. There is a very strict code of conduct as to how players should behave on the field and off the field.
“Conte has very clear ideas about behaviour, respect, being on time for training, no phones during certain times.
“He doesn’t do it to show he is the boss, he just wants everybody as focused as he is. He is a man who commands respect, but players want to respect him, they see how hard he works.”
Buffon added: “When he is speaking he has the total focus of all the players. There is silence when he speaks. It is not just that players don’t dare interrupt him, it’s that they know there will always be sense in what he is saying.
“I would back him to succeed at any club in any country.
“He is obsessed with football, he is obsessed with his job, failure is just not an option for him. No professional likes to lose, but he takes it personally, for him lack of success is never an option.”
