Enzo Maresca Thread

[Strike 7,474]

28 minutes ago, YorkshireBlue said:

But that’s a separate thing, I didn’t claim spurs can kick on infact I doubt they will with ange in charge, my point is league position only matter when it actually counts for something 

Yeah true. Maybe it's just me but I feel a lot better about Top 4 and slow progress than a cup win. Man United for example won a cup in 2024 and went on to have their worst season in recent memory

[YorkshireBlue 3,264]

4 minutes ago, Strike said:

Yeah true. Maybe it's just me but I feel a lot better about Top 4 and slow progress than a cup win. Man United for example won a cup in 2024 and went on to have their worst season in recent memory

Man Utd is just a name now, they are not even a shadow of what they once were, if they are not careful they could end up being the next Leeds

[Strike 7,474]

On 26/05/2025 at 05:59, Blue Armour said:

After viewing his post-match comments, I'm very much in agreement with you about a need for an attitude shift. Really needs to create a more positive mindset. Probably no small wonder that players like Palmer seem off the pace.

His words: 

“All the ones that have the answers or the ones that have the truth, they were saying that we are too young, we are not good enough, they were waiting for Aston Villa to drop points for us to achieve the Champions League. They were saying that we were not able to win on this pitch because we are too young, because we are not experienced.

“Unfortunately for them, they have all been wrong. All the ones that have the truth and have the answer to everything.

“So in English, how you say? F off to all of them, because the players deserve that. The effort they have been doing is fantastic.”

I get the us vs them mentality, but he should be humble enough to accept that a lot of things did go his way with regards to other teams. And shitting on a portion the fan group, big Ange style, looks weak.

Ange is another one who made the most of an easy Europa league run, and now looks like a hero despite racking up 20 plus losses and a negative goal difference.

 

These quotes are really odd - He’s saying F off to the pundits saying we are not good enough. But when there was talk of a title challenge it was Maresca himself saying we are not good enough in the first place. 

[Bluepower777 31]

The man's A football genuis.  Yes matters could change quickly but why set up someone else for failure when  we already have the best possible option unless we can get Pep which of course is impossible. Sports with or without circumstances is like life, full of ups and downs. 

[Fernando 6,585]

Don't go overboard. 

I was one of the few backing him this whole season when most turn on him. 

But even then I know he ain't the second coming. 

I always said he ain't the worst out there but not the best out there neither, that he was okay for me and we can continue with him and get some continuity by building better our squad this summer. As often mention I was tired of sacking manager and then new manager comes in and want to try out all player to see what he likes.....

That being said if we fix the squad with the right players I would not be surprised to see Marasca doing exponentially much better then this season. However I will hold my analysis until November-December because if he has not improved by that time frame then I will join the sacking party. 

Other then that I'm glad he helped us get CL, and won the Conference league, now work on improving the squad. 

[Milan 17,955]

 

[Vesper 30,071]

Enzo Maresca: «Italy can no longer keep up with the pace of other countries. I worked with Guardiola and I see football through his eyes»

by Paolo Condò

The Chelsea manager opens up after leading the team back to the Champions League and winning the Conference League: "On individual motivation, Marcello Lippi was an unsurpassed master. Inzaghi must be proud of his work at Inter"

https://www.corriere.it/sport/calcio/25_giugno_11/enzo-maresca-intervista-eb3131cd-70b1-48d7-815e-a7dae8855xlk.shtml

 

Enzo Maresca 's WhatsApp profile does not feature a photo, but a famous football quote: "It is statistically proven that during a match, a player's average ball possession is 3 minutes. This means that his value is determined by what he does in the other 87 minutes.
" "It's a maxim by Johan Cruijff. I had it written on the walls of the Leicester dressing room two summers ago, and we won the Championship. Of course, I did it at Chelsea, too, and it didn't go badly this year either."

Didn't anyone challenge her? Didn't anyone come and tell her that champions solve games with a play?
"Maybe they discussed it among themselves, but I didn't hear a single protest. The phrase needs to be understood. It doesn't minimize the importance of talent, but it underlines how you can make yourself useful even when you don't see the ball much."

His Chelsea this year finished fourth in the Premier League and won the Conference. Were these the expected objectives?
"We are a year ahead of the Champions League qualification, they had asked me for it in two seasons. As for the Conference, it is natural that its appeal is less than the other cups, but as I said in the first meeting, if Chelsea had qualified for that one it means they deserved to play in that one. To win it, and we won it."

At the start of the season your squad was monstrous: 43 players. From whom did you learn to deal with so many players?
«Well, some left. We made strong choices, because they were all quality guys but the squad had to be reduced. On individual motivation, Marcello Lippi was an unsurpassed master. The ability he had to talk to each player, get into their head and motivate them in the way that was right for them, which is never the same as that of another, was exceptional. I try to do as he did. I try».

The average age of Chelsea is very young. Is that why, after the various disappointing experiences with Potter, Lampard and Pochettino, the owner Boehly chose you?
«The idea of making me grow together with the team was there, because I did well at Leicester and because I come from Guardiola's school, obviously».

Chelsea spends a lot.
"But now they invest well, in the direction that modern football is going. Enzo Fernandez and Caicedo were paid a lot, but no one remembers their price anymore because of how much they have grown. Before, a lot was spent on players over thirty who had already given their best".

Look, he is photographing Italian football today.
"The premise is that I don't want to give lessons to anyone. Having said that, the Champions League final photographed the dominance of a young team, capable of great technical plays expressed at an infernal pace, energy, running, pressing, offensive talent. Luis Enrique has built a spectacular PSG, in my own small way at Chelsea I try to do the same".

How does Inter come out of this discussion?
"Two Champions League finals in three years are an achievement, not a defeat. Inzaghi must be proud of his work, also because he carried it out in an ecosystem that is now different from the rest of the world. Only in Italy do we continue to think that young people are always too young and that experience linked to age is what makes you win matches. It's a cultural choice, which costs you in loss of energy. This is how I see it, Italian football can no longer keep up with the pace of other schools."

Does it also apply to the national team?
"Of course. The teams collect the work of the clubs, how can you ask to rejuvenate if the youngsters don't play? Chelsea spent to set up a squad of very young talents, but this didn't stop us from beating the record of the academy boys who made their debut in the first team. There were nine. We all have faith in them, and in the work of those who weaned them".

That's what she did in the first half at Manchester City.
"Let's name one: Cole Palmer. In the elite youth team at City I had to develop a superior talent, today at Chelsea I enjoy a supreme talent. And every day I try to improve him in something."

Between elite coach at City and assistant to Pep, he had an unhappy experience at Parma.
«Short but fundamental, you learn from your mistakes and I made some there. However, I was taken on for a three-year program and kicked out after three months: the team still took the three years foreseen to return to Serie A, and the young players I worked on then, Bernabé, Bonny, Mihaila, are still considered young today. You can see that with me they were children».

 

Will Guardiola recover?
"After 8 extraordinary seasons, he has made half a mistake, and you already doubt that he will be competitive again? Come on. But I am biased, after having had the opportunity to work with him, I confess that I see football through his eyes."

Will De Bruyne do well at Napoli?
"I know Kevin like the back of my hand, he will adapt quickly to Conte's requests and will add a lot to Napoli. Like all great champions, he has boundless pride. I certainly don't question players over 30 of a similar level. I simply try to put the energy of the boys around him."

Chelsea are about to leave for the Club World Cup. What happens if you get to the final on July 13?
"The only thing possible: the Premier League restarts on August 17, we gather on the 10th and do a normal work week, as if it were winter. It will take us a while to get back to full speed, but the players need holidays. And the coaches too, eh."

[Vesper 30,071]

[ahmedou 188]

😅😂🤣

 

[ahmedou 188]

Nobody:

Maresca: 3-0 or more?

[Fernando 6,585]

So far my analysis was right that it was worth the wait with him and continue to improving the squad. 

This is what you get with  some kind of stability with a decent manager. And as i thought if improve the squad he will do exponentially much better. 

For squad building he is much better then Tuchel, and Conte. For winner mentality I still love Tuchel and Conte (especially Conte he is a monster). 

Since Maresca is young his winning mentality can grow as those two, first season and two trophies already. That should do wonders for him. 

And excited that for once we get a manager that is good with working with younger players, because Since Mourinho era we never really had that....I remember thinking AVB was going to be that one for us, but we never really had one. 

[Vesper 30,071]

On 12/07/2025 at 21:29, ahmedou said:

😅😂🤣

 

he was right

[ahmedou 188]

49 minutes ago, Vesper said:

he was right

wHo sAid tHaT

[ahmedou 188]

UPDATE: Chelsea HAVE WON 14 OF THEIR LAST 16 GAMES

[Vesper 30,071]

Chelsea’s positional fluidity stifled PSG, providing Maresca with a blueprint for next season

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6492813/2025/07/18/how-Chelsea-stifled-psg-maresca-blueprint-next-season/

Not many teams keep a clean sheet against Paris Saint-Germain.

In a long, quadruple-winning 2024-25 season, Luis Enrique’s side had failed to score on just five occasions before the Club World Cup final, but each of those shut-outs were qualitatively different from the blueprint that Enzo Maresca laid out for Chelsea on Sunday.

“The message was quite clear. We won the game in the first 10 minutes,” Maresca told reporters after the 3-0 victory. “The message before the game was, ‘Let them understand we are here to win the game’. It set the tone of the game.”

It was a statement that would not be out of place in a Sunday league dressing room, with players imploring their team-mates to “let them know you are there early” as an act of hostility. But Chelsea’s aggression out of possession was a crucial factor in their victory as they snapped into challenges and got tight to their Parisian opponents, particularly in the first half.

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PSG’s fluid positional rotations have the capacity to twist anyone’s blood, as so many of Europe’s elite sides have found out in recent months. Luis Enrique’s side can pull your defensive shape apart to create space with their movement. However, space does not score goals.

Chelsea’s adaptable defensive performance matched the fluidity that PSG looked to implement in possession. They were aggressive with it, but it was clear that every action they did off the ball, they performed with conviction.

This was clear from the opening exchanges, when Trevoh Chalobah tracked midfielder Fabian Ruiz’s run across the pitch to receive the ball. By shutting the passing option off at source, Fabian was unable to gain possession as PSG continued to circulate the ball elsewhere.

Chelsea were not entirely man-for-man across the pitch, but it was crucial that their centre-backs tracked their runners all the way when they were getting touch-tight to their markers — even if it meant being in unnatural positions at times.

Below, you can see Ousmane Dembele dropping as far as left-back to find a pocket of space, but Chalobah follows him all the way to force him into a simple pass, while Chelsea briefly shuffle across to form a temporary back three.

There were countless other examples, with Chalobah’s centre-back partner Levi Colwill doing exactly the same in stepping out from the defensive line to stop any danger before it grew — dovetailing excellently with midfielder Moises Caicedo, who would drop into Chelsea’s back line to plug any gaps opened by his team-mate.

This was even more prominent with an example later in the first half, where you would be forgiven for thinking that it was Colwill who was playing as Chelsea’s defensive midfielder and Caicedo as left centre-back, based on this image.

With the threat that PSG are known to pose in wide areas, similar communication was needed on the flanks.

Wingers tracking their runners is a tale as old as time, but the extent to which Marc Cucurella and Pedro Neto shut down the space and stuck to their jobs will have pleased Maresca as much as any of the three goals his team scored.

With barely four minutes on the clock, Cucurella pushes high to track Desire Doue’s run, dropping deep. As Marquinhos winds up to play the ball over the top, the Chelsea player deepest is Neto — who has followed Achraf Hakimi’s run back to his own penalty area, nodding down the long ball for Robert Sanchez to collect.

Such was Neto’s desire to get back defensively, that Chelsea formed a back five at times to block the space. The image below shows the outcome of a strong first 20 minutes out of possession, with no PSG player properly inside Chelsea’s compact block as they look to circulate the ball once more.

It was not exactly beautiful football at times — with Chelsea comfortable playing the percentage game by whacking it upfield and starting again in the first half — but it was no less effective.

It required plenty of communication, lots of pointing and a fair share of shuttle runs, but Chelsea laid the foundation for their performance in the opening stages, just as Maresca declared.

In fairness, their out-of-possession approach was equally as impressive in their semi-final clash with Fluminense, but that was based more on high pressing from the midfield and forward line.

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With the fluidity of PSG’s movement, Chelsea were unable to use defensive triggers in the same way to start a coherent press across the whole team. Instead, they opted to embrace the chaos with their front-footed one-v-one battles.

As much as anything, Maresca can use Chelsea’s Club World Cup final victory as a platform to show how much he can adapt tactically and curate a game plan to beat any side in European football. Such flexibility was the order of the day across the whole tournament, with Maresca using this summer to establish new ideas and strengthen the buy-in he has within the squad.

Will they use an identical tactic next season in similar, high-profile games? That remains to be seen, but the defensive discipline that Chelsea showed is what they can carry into the new campaign.

“For me, the biggest achievement this season is that exactly one year ago, no one was talking about Chelsea for football (reasons), but talking about the big squad, big money,” Maresca said on the Friday before the final.

“Now, no one is talking about this, but they are talking about the way we play, and the way we win games. This is personally the biggest achievement of this season.”

With two trophies won in less than two months, you can understand why there is now greater focus on the club’s on-pitch matters.

[NikkiCFC 8,285]

Vialli, Ancelotti, RDM, Conte, Sarri, Maresca... Italian managers = trophies. 

[ahmedou 188]

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