Inter Milan's Antonio Conte 'Is the Messi of Coaches,' Says Alessandro Bastoni

New Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte is the "[Lionel] Messi of coaches," according to Nerazzurri defender Alessandro Bastoni.

The 50-year-old took over at the San Siro in May and has overseen two wins from two at the start of his first Serie A season in charge at the club.

A three-time Scudetto winner as Juventus manager, Conte also led Chelsea to a record-breaking Premier League title in 2016-17:

Inter will be hoping the former Italy boss can help them challenge again for the Serie A title, and Bastoni has clearly been impressed with him, comparing him to Barcelona superstar Messi, per La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Sam France of Goal):

"Everyone had spoken highly of Conte and I’ve only received confirmation of how great he is. As far as I am concerned, Conte is the Messi of coaches. He is phenomenal, has exceptional footballing ideas and always wants to go on the attack. The training schedule is very tough indeed, but so was Gian Piero Gasperini when I played for Atalanta.

"The difference was that we were training in China over the summer and the humidity was incredible, so I admit that did make me suffer a lot. But when the quality level goes up, you must raise your game to meet it. There’s no point denying it, we want to change the way the Serie A seasons have been going recently. We have the coach and the squad to do that, but must prove it one game at a time."

Bastoni, 20, signed for Inter in 2017 but was immediately loaned back to Atalanta.

He was then loaned to Parma for last season and has yet to make his senior debut for Inter. That could well come this season under Conte, though.

Inter last won Serie A in 2009-10 and last competed for the title in the following season, when they finished second.

They then spent the next four seasons outside of Italy's top four, but they have slowly been making their way back to the upper echelons of the top flight.

After back-to-back fourth-placed finishes, they now have Conte at the helm, and he has a superb record in Serie A:

He has brought in Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez to strengthen Inter's attack, and Diego Godin should add some valuable experience to the defence.

Juventus have won the last eight titles in a row, but Conte's arrival at Inter has increased their chances of finally challenging the Old Lady again this term.