The four-time World Cup winners won just one of 10 matches prior to the recent appointment of the 45-year-old – a run which saw them suffer a disappointing first-phase exit at Brazil 2014.
But despite fielding an under-strength side, Conte masterminded a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands which prompted countless Italian football personalities to shower him in praise.
“You already saw tonight he has given us a very precise idea of football,” Leonardo Bonucci told Rai Sport.
“We tried his ideas tactically from the first day – the same ideas that helped Juventus win three consecutive Scudetti. His methods are certainly strong. These 10 days have been the right pill to absorb his battling spirit.”
With Mario Balotelli suspended for the game in Oslo, Conte overlooked him for the Bari friendly. In the Liverpool striker’s absence, goalscorer Ciro Immobile and debutant Simone Zaza formed an impressive tandem.
"We had worked on the combinations of strikers and the understanding between them, with various different options and players," he explained. "We need to keep working, though, as on Tuesday we’ll play a Norway team who have proven themselves to be tough."
Per-Mathias Hogmo nevertheless accentuated the positives from that narrow defeat: “I thought we did well. I thought there were a lot of positives we can take into the Italy game.”
