The once-crowned Pride of London, have fallen hard since their last European triumph back in 2021. Ever since their Russian owner, Roman Abramovic parted ways with the club, Chelsea has never been the same again. But now after 3-4 years of looking down the gun barrel, there’s renewed hope at Chelsea. And it’s fair to say that it has come under the most unforeseen circumstances. And the man who has brought that hope to the club is none other than Enzo Maresca.
Pep Guardiola sure has a knack for imbibing his disciples and colleagues with innate footballing knowledge turning them into master technicians. He did it with Xavi Hernandez, then Mikel Arteta, and now, Enzo Maresca. Yes, the current Chelsea manager was once a part of Pep’s staff at Manchester City. Enzo Maresca came into Chelsea at a time when the last 3 managers at the club were utter failures, and with the club finishing out of the top 4 for 3 seasons in a row. It was something quite unprecedented for a club that won the Champions League the year before.
Mauricio Pochettino’s lack of willingness to try something new, followed by a clueless Frank Lampard who was replaced by Graham Potter who failed to live up to his reputation, meant that all the pressure was on Enzo Maresca. With Todd Boehly’s acquisition at the club, Chelsea was on the market 24/7, buying talents left and right. It almost felt like they were buying so much surplus in quantity that quality might have to take a backseat.
Here’s why Enzo Maresca is the right man for Chelsea
But Enzo Maresca had his plans laid out in front of him. He gave 2 particular statements which tells us that he is the right man to lead this Chelsea squad. Firstly, talking about the outside noise regarding the massive size of the squad, the 44-year-old said, “The noise is more outside, because I’m working with 21 or 22 players since we are back from the USA. I’m not working with 42 or 43 players. You like to say we have 42 or 43 players but more than 15 players are training apart, they are not with the team.”
Furthermore, according to the Italian himself, he has been clear with players like Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell from the start regarding their futures. This points to the Italian’s straightforward man-management skills and shows that he has been clear about his goal from the start. That he has his eyes set on a particular squad of 21-22 players.
The second statement, which Enzo Maresca gave a few hours ago was related to his aim for the season. The Chelsea boss told the Official Chelsea website, “For us, the target at this moment is to improve players. No one from the club asked me to compete for the Premier League or compete for a Champions League spot. They just asked me to improve the players and improve the team. The most important thing is to be better game after game. From there, we try to do our best and see where we arrive.”
This shows that Maresca has been planning small-term goals rather than making big statements and in turn putting his squad under pressure. Last season there were sparks of individual brilliance from certain individuals in this Chelsea team and this season, Maresca’s job is laid out for him. Bring out the best of this squad with limitless potential.
And while the Premier League calendar might’ve treated them harshly with their opening game being against defending champions Manchester City; Chelsea bounced back in the game right after to thrash Wolves 6-2 away from home with spectacular performances from Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke restoring faith in the hearts of all the Blues around the globe.
