Conte happy to be back

Juventus head coach Antonio Conte said he was thrilled to finally be back in the dug-out after serving a four-month touchline ban.

The Italian was back among his players for the Serie A leaders’ 1-0 win over Palermo on Sunday and admitted it was the ‘physical contact’ with the players he missed most.

“The thing I missed most over these four months was the physical contact with the players during the 95 minutes of play and it was great the other day when everyone came to me and hugged me,” Conte said.

“That was an extraordinary feeling, that’s what I don’t want to renounce to it, I need the physical contact with my players.”

Conte also thanked the Juventus faithful for their unwavering support during the ban.

“In Palermo I didn’t mention my thanks to the supporters because I wanted to give a special thanks to them in our home game, for everything they did and proved me over these four months,” he said.

“I want to thank them all officially, because together with my family, the club and the players, their importance was essential for me, in particular when I was very angry and sad.”

The 43-year-old was banned for his role in a match-fixing scandal with the National Court of Arbitration for Sport reducing the length from 10 months to four after appeal.