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With Antonio Conte the odds-on favourite to become the next Chelsea manager, what do we know about the Italy manager? Sky Sports News HQ understands Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo travelled to Italy on Tuesday and will be present at Juventus Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich, which Conte is also due to attend. Conte on his way? Sky Bets next Chelsea manager odds SSN HQ are currently investigating the claim the Italy coach has agreed a two-year deal to become the permanent successor to Jose Mourinho, but what could we expect from the 46-year-old Italian if he was to take over at Stamford Bridge? Conte had success at Juventus before becoming Italy manager after the World Cup in 2014 Managerial historyContes playing career came to an end in 2004 after making over 300 appearances for Juventus and earning 20 caps for Italy before becoming assistant manager at Siena for the 2005/06 season. Conte odds-on for Chelsea job Italy boss favourite to take over from Guus Hiddink He was soon given his first managerial job at Serie B outfit Arezzo, beginning a turbulent 12 months which saw him sacked after three months, reinstated five months later, and relegated on the final day of the season into Serie C1 in May 2007.After a brief sabbatical, Conte was appointed Bari manager in December 2007, and having been under threat of relegation at the start of his stint, ended up comfortably in mid-table. He led them to promotion to Serie A in 2008/09, but did not take charge of a top flight game and left the club having initially signed a one-year contract extension. Sky Italias Valentina Fass says Chelsea have held talks with Antonio Conte about becoming their new boss, but the deal hasnt been finalised just yet He was then appointed boss of Serie A side Atalanta in September 2009, winning just three of his 14 games in charge and leaving the following January, before dropping a division to guide Siena to the top flight for the 2010/11 season. Conte then began a three-year stint at Juventus, which saw him win Serie A in each season, as well as the Supercoppa in 2012 and 2013. In Europe, Conte led Juve to the Champions League quarter-finals in 2012/13, but did not get past the group stages the following season.His domestic success at Juventus led Conte to the national side after Cesare Prandellis departure following a poor World Cup in Brazil, tasked with stabilising the side ahead of Euro 2016.Italy won Group H ahead of Croatia, Norway, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and Malta, winning seven and drawing three out of 10 games. Italy topped their Euro Qualifiers group, going unbeaten in all 10 games Six of those wins came by a one-goal margin, and the Azzurri now face Belgium, Republic of Ireland and Sweden in Group E at the tournament in France.How likely is it Conte will be appointed?Contes contract with Italy expires after the 2016 European Championships in the summer and he will be free to move to Stamford Bridge, with no compensation needed to be paid to the Italian Football Federation. Sky Italias Valentina Fass told Sky Sports News HQ that Conte had been linked with Chelsea for some time and a deal between the two was close to being agreed before Christmas. We know that Chelsea want to decide who their manager for next year will be by March, she told Sky Sports News HQ. Interim manager Guus Hiddink is in charge until the end of the season at Chelsea Conte seems to be ahead in the talks. Nothing has been decided yet, but maybe a contract has been put down.There are still other contenders. [Diego] Simeone, even though it looks like he wants to stay at Atletico, is one of the names on the list still, and also [Massimiliano] Allegri, Juventus manager, is on the list.Rebuilding the BridgeMake no mistake, this summer will be a rebuilding job at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea having dropped from champions to mid-table. However, Conte has the relevant experience on his CV.He revived struggling teams at Arezzo, Bari, Atalanta and Siena, but his work at Juventus stands out the most. Conte won Serie A three times in a row during his three seasons at Juve Having finished in seventh in 2010/11, Conte took over from Luigi Delneri and led Juve to the league title without a single defeat, the first club to do so in Italian history.Conceding just 20 goals in 38 games, it was their first official league title since 2003 after being stripped of two Serie A crowns for their involvement in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal.Tactics-wise, Conte is not restricted to his 3-5-2 formation, used predominantly at Juventus and with Italy. He has been known to switch to 4-3-3 successfully, a flexibility which has seen him lose just 18 games in his 167 as a manager since starting at Juventus in 2011.Sky in Italy reporter Gianluca Di Marzio believes rather than shoehorning players into his system, Conte would adapt his system according to the players capabilities. Arturo Vidal (L) and Paul Pogba (R) were brought to Juventus under Conte In a column on his website earlier this week, Di Marzio said: As Conte himself has said many times, he believes a good manager adapts to the personnel he has and not the other way around.Conte was equally impressive in the transfer market, and despite some inevitable misses, hits included Andrea Pirlo (free), Paul Pogba (free), Carlos Tevez (£6.75m), Arturo Vidal (£9.4m) and Stephan Lichtsteiner (£7.5m). During his three seasons at Juve, Conte never spent over £15m on a player.What theyve saidI am extremely lucky I met Antonio Conte, I had so many coaches to compare him too, and he is the one who surprised me the most. I was expecting a good coach, but not that good. - Andrea Pirlo, 2014, in I Think, Therefore I Play autobiography. Andrea Pirlo says he is lucky to have played under Conte The secret of our success is the ambition our coach has. Conte has brought a new mentality to the club. He has pushed us to sweat, to find strength and to undergo hard work in order to cancel out the last two disappointing campaigns. - Gianluigi Buffon, 2012[Contes] 3-5-2 is the best in history. Hes the only coach who doesnt play a 5-3-2. But he struggles against opponents with good wingers, who are able to switch play quickly. Big teams dont have any problems doing that. You cant dominate or set a trend with 3-5-2. - Zvonimir Boban, 2014, former Milan midfielder Also See: Conte odds-on for Chelsea job Mikel wants Hiddink to stay Allegri wants to stay at Juve Hiddink: Hazard getting there Saucony Italia Scontate .The Hanwha Eagles said the team was impressed with Morgans contact ability and base-running skills.The 34-year-old debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007 and hit . Saucony Saldi Online . -- Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno was admitted to the hospital Friday for observation due to minor complications from cancer treatments, his family said. http://www.sauconyscontate.it/. They never thought it would take some blood, too. Kevin Love grabbed his 4,000th career rebound as part of a 19-point, 13-board effort to lead the Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz 112-97 on Tuesday night. Saucony Scontate Uomo . -- Catriona Matthew remained atop the Airbus LPGA Classic leaderboard Friday, birdieing four of the last seven holes to take a one-stroke advantage over Charley Hull into the weekend. Saucony Vendita On Line . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history. NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets acquired guard Marcus Thornton from the Sacramento Kings for Jason Terry and Reggie Evans on Wednesday, removing two little-used veterans from their aging roster and hoping a younger one can rediscover his scoring touch. Terry came from Boston along with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce but has appeared in just 35 games after a knee injury, averaging 4.5 points on 36 per cent shooting. Evans was a favourite of fans but not coach Jason Kidd, who used him in just 30 of their 51 games. Evans made 56 starts last season and led the Nets with 11.1 rebounds per game, but lost his starting spot when the Nets acquired Garnett, and then fell behind rookie Mason Plumlee in Kidds rotation. Thornton averaged 21.3 points in 23 games with the Kings in 2010-11 after being acquired in a midseason trade with New Orleans. He then led the Kings with 18.7 points per game in 2011-12, but had fallen out of favour under defensive-minded coach Michael Malone, even getting benched at one point to make way for rookie Ben McLemore. "Marcus is a proven scorer in this league," Nets general manager Billy King said in a statement. "He is a young talent who will help us in the backcourt." Thornton, now 26 years old, is averaging just 8.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes per game this season. He has started 26 of 46 games and is shooting 38 per cent from the floor, including 31 per cent from 3-point range. Its the third move for the Kings since the season started as they rebuild under new owner Vivek Ranadive, general manager Pete DAAlessandro and Malone.dddddddddddd Sacramento sent Luc Mbah a Moute to Minnesota for Derrick Williams on Nov. 26 and acquired Rudy Gay in a seven-play deal with Toronto on Dec. 9. "Were an unfinished product," DAlessandro said before the Kings hosted Golden State on Wednesday night. "Were just going to continue to try to change and turn it over and try to figure it out until we can get it right. I think change is good when youve lost a lot. You have to change. You always have to change." One of the biggest reasons the Kings made the trade is to give more playing time to McLemore and fellow rookie Ray McCallum. McLemore, the seventh overall pick out of Kansas, made his 27th start Wednesday night. "We have to see these guys play, and not in practice but in NBA games to see what theyre capable of doing so we can make decisions coming in the off-season," Malone said. The Kings, under the former ownership of the Maloof family, signed Thornton to a four-year contract worth about $31 million just before the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season. Thornton is making $8.05 million this season and is due $8.575 million next season. Hell bring some youth to a Nets team that loaded up on veterans in an expensive attempt to make a run at a title this season. But they came out of the All-Star break with a 24-27 record, good for only seventh place in the Eastern Conference. They could still make another move before Thursdays 3 p.m. EST trade deadline, even though they were already slated to pay more than $180 million in salary and taxes this season. ' ' '