The Lecce-born veteran has been fighting against the odds his entire career, ever since Juventus FC plucked him from the relative obscurity of Serie B in July 1991. He eventually graduated to full international honours, and became Juventus captain. A combative midfielder, he tends not to score straightforward goals but rather 25-metre specials. He intends to finish his career at Juventus, whose famous black and white colours he describes as "my second skin". The only low points of his career have been down to a couple of bad injuries, the most recent of which left him sidelined too often during the 2000/01 season. Has won the lot with Juventus over the years, including three Italian titles, a UEFA Cup, an Italian Cup and, 1996, the UEFA Champions League. Conte won his first international cap against Finland in 1994 and has represented Italy at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and at EURO 2000™.