Sampaoli: Roman Abramovich told me I would replace Mourinho but he has chosen Conte
– 2015 Copa America winning coach Jorge Sampaoli says Antonio Conte has beat him to the Chelsea job
– The Argentine held a series of meetings with Roman Abramovich and he was told he would replace Mourinho
– The coach suggests that his failure to learn English faster than Conte might have cost him to lose the job
Former Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli has revealed he was the first option to replace Jose Mourinho at Chelsea until Antonio Conte came into the picture.
Jorge Sampaoli and Alexis Sanchez during the 2015 Copa America
The 2015 Copa America winning coach revealed that he held meetings with club owner Roman Abramovich who told him he was the first option to take over from Guus Hiddink in the summer.
Chelsea sacked Jose Mourinho in December with Hiddink appointed in an interim capacity but the Dutchman revealed he would be leaving in the summer.
Hence, Chelsea were on the look out for replacements with the like of Massimiliano Allegri, Antonio Conte and Sampaoli emerging as front-runners but Conte has emerged as the favourite in recent weeks, with the current Italy boss expected to take over following the conclusion of Euro 2016 this summer.
Massimo Allegri
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However, Sampaoli has revealed that he came very close to getting the job himself but Conte would be most likely appointed
Antonio Conte
“I had a meeting with Chelsea’s owner and he told me that I was the first option,” the former Chile boss told Argentine radio station Radio Vorterix (via Gazzetta World).
Former Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli
“I was about to be their new coach. But then Conte appeared and it became a competition between us. It was him or me. I needed some time in order to improve my English but this kind of club doesn’t give you that time.
“The Premier League is definitely the best league in the world and I wanted to coach there. But as I said, it didn’t happen, sadly.”
Chelsea have endured a miserable campaign so far. The club was kicked out of the Champions League by PSG during the week while Everton knocked them out of the FA Cup via two goals from old boy Romelu Lukaku.
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