Antonio Conte has responded to growing talk of a petition from some Juventus fans who want his star removed at their stadium.
As noted by Goal Italy, and in the tweet below from Football Italia, 15,000 fans are said to have signed a petition to remove his star and have one dedicated to recently retired Claudio Marchisio instead.
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That is despite the fact that he made almost 300 appearances for Juventus as a player while winning five Serie A titles, the Champions League and countless other trophies.
Further, he delivered three more Scudetti as coach, and so there is no doubt that he has written his name into folklore and the history books for the Bianconeri.
However, it seems as though his decision to take charge at bitter rivals Inter hasn’t gone down well with many as he is now plotting a way to topple Juventus in the Serie A title race this season.
The Nerazzurri have started well with six straight wins as Juve sit two points adrift ahead of the Derby d’Italia on Sunday night, but the talking point has been over Conte on Saturday as he felt it necessary to respond to the petition and the fans in question.
As seen in the tweet below, the Italian tactician was far from impressed and fumed over the “stupid and ignorant people” who have signed the petition and who are looking to erase his status at the stadium.
On one hand, you can see where some die-hard fans are coming from as joining Inter was never going to be a popular decision.
However, that surely can’t take away from what he did for Juventus as both a player and coach and his influence and success over the years. In turn, it’s hard not to feel for him and ultimately the more he and other key figures comment on the petition, it’s likely to receive more traction and perhaps even more support from other fans.
Antonio Conte on the petition: It gave room to a move that showed ignorance, lacking values and education. I didn’t even want to discuss this, but you in the media are giving a spotlight to these stupid and ignorant people.” https://t.co/LGZTtJGrim
— footballitalia (@footballitalia) October 5, 2019
