Antonio Conte has admitted that Juventus is in a class of their own, even though his Inter Milan and other teams are closing in on them.
Juve has won the last nine Italian league titles, leaving the likes of Milan, Napoli and Inter Milan to chase success in cup and European competitions.
Conte helped the Bianconeri to win their first of the nine titles in 2012, and they haven’t looked back since then.
He left Juve to manage the Italian national team in 2014, but the Bianconeri has maintained the standard that he set for them at the start of the decade.
They have had different managers, but all have won the title, and Conte admits that no team can say that have caught up with them just yet.
He, however, says that others are closing in because there were times when Juve have had 20 points and more than their nearest challenger.
He said in his press conference ahead of the Juve match via Football Italia: “I don’t want to point to favourites, we simply have to respect a side that has dominated for nine years and wants to dominate for another year. Respect is the least we can give Juventus for all they’ve done, especially as in recent years it’s been a foregone conclusion in Serie A.
“We closed the gap on them last season and hope we can do the same, because I remember times when Juve were 20-25 points in front of everyone and that was not good to see.
“No team in Italy can say they completely closed the gap with Juventus, but we’re getting closer. They dominated for nine years and also worked well off the field, bringing in the likes of Federico Chiesa, Alvaro Morata, Dejan Kulusevski and Weston McKennie. They deserve credit for improving every single year.”
