If Inter Milan don’t win the Serie A, has Antonio Conte’s tenure been a failure?

Inter Milan has invested a lot of money in signings for manager Antonio Conte to deliver the title and while he came close to that last season, the current one seems to be of even greater importance. But in the possible scenario of losing the title, does that make Conte’s tenure a failure?

Despite crashing out in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, Inter Milan are very close to AC Milan in the Serie A table and they have a very tangible chance of winning the league, which is something that the club has not accomplished since the 2009/10 season, when they won the treble with Jose Mourinho.

Now, it is no secret that that was the board’s intention: they hired manager Antonio Conte because of his league success with both Juventus and Chelsea, plus the fact that he is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world and they backed him with multiple signings like Lukaku, Sanchez, Eriksen, Hakimi and others. Last season ended with some disappointment, with the club losing the league title to Juventus by one point and losing the Europa League final to Sevilla. And now that they are fighting the league again, a question has to be made: Is Antonio Conte’s tenure a failure if he doesn’t win the Serie A title?

First and foremost, we have to point out that, win or lose the league title, Antonio Conte brought the best performances from an Inter Milan squad since the Mourinho days, at least when it comes to the Serie A. They have shown commitment, quality and determination, which are all the main traits of a peak Conte side. Players like Lautaro Martinez, Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku are enjoying some of the best performances of their careers and squad players have delivered on a regular basis.

On the other hand, the board has made a lot of investment for the squad and they expect a little bit more in return. The Champions League performances have been a big issue and the lack of a league title would hamper an already strained relationship with Conte.

Even more so, the majority of Antonio Conte’s signings have been older players, like Arturo Vidal, Ashley Young, Diego Godin or Alexis Sanchez. This core of players is going to be run into the ground for the next manager and they are not going to last very long, which is going to require another rebuild. This is a sacrifice the board has done for trophies now. So, it is very hard to not look at Antonio Conte’s tenure at San Siro as a failure if he doesn’t deliver the goods when it comes to trophies.