COLOGNE - With eight Serie A titles as a player and manager, plus a Champions League triumph and glory abroad, there is little disputing Inter Milan's coach Antonio Conte is a success story in football.
Which is a relief given his attitude.
"I always say history only remembers the winners," the 51-year-old Conte, who made his name as player and coach with Juventus, told reporters ahead of Friday's Europa League final against Sevilla in Cologne.
Conte is coming to the end of his debut season, stretched by the coronavirus pandemic, on the Inter bench.
There have been ups and downs, notably when he was critical of club leadership for a perceived lack of support during the global health crisis, but progress has been made.
"When I take on a new challenge, I have to have the slightest feeling, that 1 per cent chance, that I can win silverware," he said Thursday.
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Lifting the Europa League would end Inter's nine-year wait for a trophy with the 2011 Italian Cup the last added to a historic collection which includes three European Cup/Champions Leagues - the last of which was part of a Jose Mourinho delivered treble 10 years ago.
"The players bought into the work we've did and they became braver and the braver they are the more chance there is of winning a big competition like the Europa League," said Conte.
Belgium's Romelu Lukaku and Argentine Lautaro Martinez have delivered 54 goals between them this season (Lukaku 33, Lautaro 21), with the next best scorer only on seven.
At the other end, veteran stopper Diego Godin, who reached two Champions League finals with Atletico Madrid, marshals the defence.
"I won't be advising the players of anything, I simply work hard and do everything the coach asks of me," Godin said. "We need to do everything we've prepared, everything we've worked on in training and we need to play with heart."
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Goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, now 36, moved to Inter in 2012 - just the club's time at the top of the tree was coming to an end.
"When I joined Inter it was to be involved in finals such as these but unfortunately the situation wasn't the best," he said. "I think this can be a starting point.
"Matches like these need to become a habit for Inter just like 10-15 years ago. Inter should always be looking to compete for trophies, for league titles."
Standing in the way of the trophy are Europa League record champions Sevilla, who have won all five previous finals they've played in the competition.
Inter reached four finals in the 1990s, winning three, and romped back to the showpiece 5-0 over Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-final of the mini-tournament held without fans in western Germany due to the coronavirus.
Sevilla, meanwhile, had a tighter last four win against the tougher Manchester United and are unbeaten in some 20 games in all competitions.
"I don't use the word fear, I don't want my players to have it in their locker," said Conte. "[But] we really respect Sevilla, they have a great history."
DPA