Conte eyes redemption

LONDON. — Frustrated by his past failures in the Champions League soccer, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has set his sights on a mission of redemption as he returns to the competition after a four-year absence. Conte still bears the scars from a snowy night in Istanbul in 2013 when Juventus suffered a shock defeat against Galatasaray that sent the Italian giants crashing out of Europe’s elite club competition.

That embarrassing exit remains Conte’s last experience of the Champions League, but he will end that wait tonight when Chelsea host Azerbaijan minnows Qarabag in their Group C opener.

Having led Chelsea to the English Premier League title last season, the 48-year-old would dearly love to bring the London club their second Champions League crown.

But bitter experience will remind Conte to take nothing for granted.

In his first Champions League campaign in 2012-13, Juventus were pitted against Conte’s future employers Chelsea, as well as Shakhtar Donetsk and Nordsjaelland.

Conte’s team won the group with an unbeaten run of three wins and three draws, including a 3-0 rout of holders Chelsea in Italy and a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

The Bianconeri cruised past Celtic in the last 16, with 3-0 and 2-0 victories dispatching the over-matched Scottish club.

But in the quarter-finals, Juventus found themselves in deep water against Bayern Munich.

Although Conte’s well-drilled side were peerless in Serie A — where they won the title by nine points, Bayern taught them a lesson in Europe.

Bayern won 2-0 at home and eased into the semi-finals with another victory by the same score in Turin.

The following season, Conte led Juventus to the Serie A for a third successive season as the Turin giants amassed a record total of 102 points.

Conte had created a potent mix by adding Argentine forward Carlos Tevez and Spanish striker Fernando Llorente to a team bolstered by the emergence of Paul Pogba.

They won 33 of 38 league matches and finished 17 points clear of second placed Roma.

But it was a far different story in the Champions League, where what should have been a fairly undemanded group turned into a four-month horror story for Conte.

Draws against Copenhagen and Galatasaray in the first two matches put Juve in trouble ahead of back to back meetings with Real Madrid. — AFP.