A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Thursday:
CONTE’S DEBUT
Antonio Conte is preparing for his first game in charge of Tottenham against Vitesse in the Europa Conference League. The Italian is the club’s third manager this year following the firings of Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo, who lasted only 17 games. “My coaching philosophy is very simple, to play good football and attractive football for our fans with passion,” Conte said. “To have a team stable, not up and down.” The Italian, who won the Serie A title with Inter Milan in May, inherits a Tottenham side sitting third in its four-team European group with four points from three games.
MOURINHO’S MEMORY
Roma coach Jose Mourinho is ready to move on after an embarrassing 6-1 rout by Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt in the new Europa Conference League. With Bodø visiting Roma this time, Mourinho says “it is impossible to forget a result like that.” Having started nearly all reserves two weeks ago, Mourinho indicated he’ll be relying on his usual starters this time. “Clearly. I was a bit too scared before the first meeting, but I won’t be this time. I was concerned about the cold, the pitch, the injuries, the tiredness … I was worried about everything, except worried about losing. I made mistakes, we all made mistakes. But the same team won’t play tomorrow.” Bodø leads Group C by one point ahead of Roma, which won its opening two matches in the third-tier competition. “We are in a good place. … Six points on the board with two home games still to go is a good spot to be in. So it’s not a vital game and it’s not a game with lots of pressure on it. But we want to finish first, we want to win the game.”
SOCIEDAD’S INJURIES
Real Sociedad will welcome Sturm without Ander Guevara and Mikel Oyarzabal because of injuries, while Alexander Isak is listed as doubtful while nursing gastroenteritis. Sociedad is unbeaten in 14 matches in all competitions, with its only loss at Barcelona in its Spanish league opener. The Spanish club is second in Group B of the Europa League, two points behind Monaco and one ahead of PSV Eindhoven. Sturm is last in the group with zero points.
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