To be honest, I saw the Europa League as a possible trophy that we could win and feel the same about the Coppa Italia.
With the exception of pre-season friendlies/club friendlies, I feel a football team should show up and play in every game and competition they are participating in. They should not choose to give their all in one competition and do 5/8s of very little in another.
Regarding the Europa League final that we lost in Conte's first season, I was heartbroken about losing that game and was down for approximately two weeks after the loss. I thought it was a good chance for us to build our confidence and add some silverware to our trophy cabinet.
Personally, I feel that clubs picking and choosing the competitions they do well in degrades the competiotions they elect to not play in. For example, many Serie A clubs do not take the Europa League seriously. It has a knock on effect because the fans then say that it is a shit competition that is not worth following and playing in. That kind of attitude reflects poorly on the clubs and Serie A as a whole. Some fans may think it does not make a difference but when the likes of PIF or another potential investor come along, they not only look at the profile of a club, they also look at the domestic league.
For me, playing in the Europa League was never about the prize money. It was about club pride, working on our mentality as a team, re-establishing our European pedigree and trying to win the competition: showing the rest of Europe that we were making progress and giving them notice that we were back.
I understand that UEFA are greedy but boycotting the Europa League does not reflect poorly on them and only harms the profile of the boycotting club.
Getting back to Conte, I am suprised he mentioned being happy to stay at Spurs so early in his tenure. He is three weeks in and he is already taking a shit on his new club and highlighting the gap between Spurs and the top clubs in the Premier League. We all knew that. I am not sure why he did not see and understand that when he took over. Or maybe his salary helped him turn a blind eye to this.
I also have to say that I cannot help but think about those English commentators in the Eriksen thread who actually said that the Dane coming to Inter from Spurs was a step down in his career. What a fucking insult that was. It shows how clueless and biased they are.
Honestly, though. I do not feel sorry for Conte. I hope that with every passing Spurs game, he comes to regret leaving Inter and pull out what little natural hair he has left. Conte and the English commentators mentioned above absolutely deserve each other.