‘Crazy’ Angelo Alessio happy to choose Kilmarnock over Inter Milan

When Angelo Alessio decided to sever his long and successful partnership with Antonio Conte to stride out on his own in management, Kilmarnock was not the most obvious port of call.

Angelo Alessio, left, was unveiled at Rugby Park yesterday as Kilmarnocks new manager, along with his assistant, Massimo Donati. Picture: SNS.

The 54-year-old’s arrival at Rugby Park as Steve Clarke’s successor on a three-year contract at Rugby Park is certainly one of the more eye-catching appointments in recent years.

When Alessio informed Conte he would not be joining him at Inter Milan this summer, his former Juventus and Chelsea boss was more than a little 
taken aback.

“He told me I was crazy,” said the engaging and courteous Alessio with a grin. “Of course Antonio offered me the opportunity to follow him to Inter Milan.

Alessio and Antonio Conte celebrate with the Serie A trophy after clinching the Italian title with Juventus in 2012. Picture: Getty.

“But after eight years together with him, the moment has arrived for me when I want more. I want a new challenge and for that reason I told Antonio of my desire to be my own manager. It’s a big challenge to replace Steve Clarke after what he did at Kilmarnock, but I’m ready.”

A Uefa Cup winner as a solid midfield player with Juventus, Alessio first teamed up with Conte as his assistant at Siena in 2010. They guided the Tuscan club to promotion to Serie A, earning a move to Juventus where three top-flight titles were won.

After two years in charge of the Italian national team, the duo moved on to Chelsea where they landed the Premier League crown in 2017.

But while many may share Conte’s bemusement that his trusty lieutenant is now content to forsake the San Siro in favour of Rugby Park, there is no doubting the sincerity of Alessio’s belief he is joining the right club at the right time.

“People might think it’s a strange decision not to go to Inter but Kilmarnock is also big for me,” added Alessio.

“My home town club is Avellino, where I began my career as a player, and it is similar to Kilmarnock in many ways. Avellino is a modest club by Italian standards but it has very passionate fans, the same as the ones here in Scotland.

“I have to work more at Kilmarnock than at a bigger club. Not harder, but more. I think this is a great opportunity for me to start a new career. In the past I was a manager on my own for four years with teams in Serie C, then I started my work together with Antonio Conte. I have built up a lot of experience and I think I am now ready for this job.

“I learned in my time with Antonio that if you want to win, and continue to win, you have to work hard every day. You have to work on every detail to improve the performance of the players and the team. Of course, you can have good players with ability. But if you want to improve, you must work hard every day.

Alessio has appointed compatriot and former Celtic player Massimo Donati to his coaching staff which will also retain Clarke’s assistant, 
Alex Dyer.

Kilmarnock director and majority shareholder Billy Bowie described Alessio’s level of research into Kilmarnock and Scottish football as “phenomenal”. It was helped by tapping into the past experience of former Rangers defender Paolo Vanoli, a member of Conte’s coaching staff at Chelsea, and will continue by speaking to Clarke himself over the next few days.

“I haven’t met Steve before but I knew of him because he had been with Chelsea a few years ago,” added Alessio. “He did a very good job here and for me, it is a big challenge to try to improve the club. But at the same time I feel I am ready for this challenge.

“I have asked the club if it would be possible to speak to Steve and he said okay. Probably I will speak with him in the next week. I spoke to Paolo, who will be staying with Antonio’s staff at Inter, and he explained to me what kind of football I would find in Scotland. But I also think the Scottish Premiership is changing. Over the last five years, it has improved. Step by step, it will continue to get better.

“I have watched a lot of Kilmarnock games on video and I have my own idea of football, of course. Here, we already have a lot of good players. Steve played 4-3-3 at times, sometimes 4-2-3-1 and in the defensive line 5-4-1. I want to follow this idea but of course I have my own methods and some things will change. It may be more attacking. The most important thing is that every single player has to know my ideas and what they do on the pitch.

“They will have to train and work very hard every day. I don’t know of any other way to succeed.

“We will try to bring in some new players and it is maybe possible to get some on loan from Antonio at Inter. But I have good players here who use their feet, head and hearts. They make me believe I can do good work with Kilmarnock.”