Former
Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has hailed the Antonio Conte effect after
a stunning first half of the season at Stamford Bridge.
Italian boss Conte has taken the side which struggled so badly under Jose
Mourinho last season and guided them eight points clear at the top of the
Premier League.
Ballack, who racked up over 150 appearances in West London, has been
impressed by the way Conte has taken the title race by the scruff of the
neck in his first season in England.
"The surprise was, last year, that they were so bad," he said. "That they
are top of the league now is not a great surprise because they have the
advantage of not playing European football.
"The team looks really fit, the team have adapted really well to the new
coach, who has adapted really well to English football, and the team is
playing to their strengths, making very few mistakes, not conceding many
goals.
"That's the key if you want to win a title - to be solid.
"At the beginning they conceded a few goals and then they changed tactics
and went to 3-4-3. That was important as well, the players feel comfortable.
"If you want to perform at 100 per cent you need trust at the club, with the
people you work with and Conte is doing that.
"That's a lot of factors coming together and that's why Chelsea are
dominating the league so far."
Ballack says that trust has also extended to Diego Costa, who is back in the
fold - and scoring - after he was left out of the team against Leicester
amid speculation of a big-money offer from China.
Speaking at the launch of international tournament Star Sixes at the O2, the
former Germany captain added: "First I have to congratulate Costa for
getting an offer like that! I never got one.
"But this is normal. You love what you do but it's still a job and you are
limited in time earning money and you think about it if someone makes you a
crazy offer.
"I think it is an emotional aspect, and also with toughness that Conte took
him out of the squad, which was an understandable situation.
"But also the answer's good from Costa. They are two really high-class
professionals dealing with each other. One is the coach, the other is the
player and overall there is the club.
"He has a contract and if he understands that this is the right club and he
should do his job, then it should work."
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