Current Italy boss Antonio Conte is poised to join Chelsea on a three-year deal after the Euros, though his former pupil, Andrea Pirlo, has a warning for those at Stamford Bridge: "There is a beast in him."
"The man can be a beast, a dressing room when he is angry is one of the most dangerous places you can be."
Pirlo, who won three Scudettos on the bounce under Conte at Juventus, has plenty of praise for the 46-year-old gaffer, but also some advice for Chelsea players and backroom staff.
"I love the man, I have nothing but respect and admiration for him. I know if he takes a job, any job, it will have to be on his terms," the New York City FC playmaker told The Mirror.
"The players he wants to sign, those he wants to get rid of, the style he wants to play."
Unlike days of yore, a manager who has complete say and influence over transfers is becoming a rarity in the modern game, with clubs boasting 'transfer committees' to assist the gaffers with shortlisting potential acquisitions.
That's not how Conte does things.
"If you sign him as your coach and then as the owner you want to start making decisions, he is not the coach for you."
After a mercurial campaign that saw fan-favourite Jose Mourinho sacked for a dismal run of form and the defending Premier League champs treading water perilously close to the drop zone, continuity is precisely what the club and owner Roman Abramovich are looking for.
Since the Russian tycoon bought the club in 2003, 11 managers have toed the sidelines for the Blues, with both Mourinho and current interim boss Guus Hiddink enjoying two spells at Stamford Bridge.
Hopes are that Conte can alter that trend by forging a lasting tenure at the club, though Pirlo concedes that he'll need complete control to make that feasible.
"If you let him get on with things and do his methods, then you will have a team that plays attractive football and will, without doubt, be successful.
"There is a beast in him. I have been in his dressing room at half-time when we have been winning, but he comes in and will be throwing full bottles of water around because of a mistake we made or because he feels we should be further ahead."
Pirlo contends that Conte has "two wives", football and his actual wife, and that his obsession with the game lead to success.
"His life is football. I know he is up until 3-4 a.m. in the morning, studying videos, looking at errors, studying the opposition of the next game. It is a good job Elisabetta is such an understanding wife, and if he takes the Chelsea job then she will have plenty of time to enjoy London, because he has two wives – Elisabetta and football."
"I have played under a lot of great managers," said Pirlo.
"But I can say that Conte is a genius. Like all men who possess genius, he is a little mad."
