n foes that made the postseason last year. It would be a significant step forward, though Fis | Forum

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. Air Max 720 Cheap Online . 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 Wholesale Air Max 720 China . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Air Max 720 Cheap Sale . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. http://www.discountairmax720.com/ .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The defensive line was the unquestioned strength for the Los Angeles Rams entering this season, and it showed in a variety of ways during their 37-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.Robert Quinn had a strip-sack that Ethan Westbrooks returned 77 yards for a touchdown, Aaron Donald had one tackle for loss and deflected two passes, and Will Hayes returned from an ankle injury to provide depth in hot and humid conditions.If they can keep it up against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Rams (2-1) can extend their early and unexpected lead in the NFC West.It was a tremendous effort there, coach Jeff Fisher said Monday. You look at the tape and go to the fourth quarter, youre watching the effort and the intensity. The intensity is there. The effort is not quite there just because of the fatigue factor on both sides, but they were there and they did what they needed to do.The Rams got an unexpected break when lightning caused a 69-minute delay at the two-minute warning, giving them a chance to return to their air-conditioned locker room.For the front four, the rest was especially beneficial as defensive end Eugene Sims had been ejected early in the second quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct. Fisher and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams used a three-man defensive line at times. Westbrooks had to play more snaps and Donald moved from tackle to end.Former first-round pick Dominique Easley replaced Donald on the interior of the line and performed admirably, Fisher said.We needed him, Fisher said. He needed to step up because we needed to balance Aaron outside and he played really well inside.Quinn, who missed the second half of last season with a back injury, demonstrated the edge rushing skills that earned accolades in 2013 by knockinng the ball from quarterback Jameis Winstons grip. Discount Air Max 720. Opponents recognize Quinn has regained his pre-injury form, Fisher said, and are using a tight end or running back to chip him and help offensive tackles. That puts the onus on other defensive linemen to take advantage of favorable matchups.But Fisher was most impressed by how Hayes gritted it out and played through injury after Sims was ejected.Thats why I have total respect for Will Hayes, Fisher said. There is no way he should have returned.Sims apologized to his teammates and Fisher, but the disqualification was the second for a Rams defensive lineman this season. Those unnecessary pre- and post-snap penalties could be the difference between winning and losing, Fisher said.I cant even remember in my career having a defensive player ejected, let alone weve had two in three weeks, so that stuff needs to stop, Fisher said.Assuming the ejections come to an end, the Rams could feast on a Cardinals offensive line that allowed five sacks in a loss to the Buffalo Bills. The nine sacks allowed by the Cardinals this season are tied for fourth-most in the NFL through three games, and the Rams had six sacks in the two-game series last season.A win against the Cardinals would take the Rams to 3-1 for the first time since 2006, with wins over two division foes that made the postseason last year. It would be a significant step forward, though Fisher isnt looking too far ahead.Do the playoffs start next week? Fisher asked. Everybody wants to start fast. We didnt start well three weeks ago, but we found a way the last couple weeks.---Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '