Chelsea have appointed Italian coach Enzo Maresca as their new manager.
Maresca will join Chelsea on July 1 and has signed a five-year contract with the club option of a further year, as Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart praised his playing style.
“He has proven himself to be an excellent coach capable of delivering impressive results with an exciting and identifiable style. Enzo has deeply impressed us in our discussions leading up to his appointment. His ambitions and work ethic align with those of the club. We thoroughly look forward to working with him.”
The former Leicester City manager has replaced Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge as the Argentine coach left this summer after just one year in charge of the West London club.
Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League which saw them qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League for next season. They also lost in the FA Cup semifinals to Manchester City and League Cup final to Liverpool.
Maresca led Leicester City to promotion from the Championship last season, winning the second-tier title playing an attractive style of football. However, Leicester have financial issues to resolve and have been charged by the Premier League for breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules. It has been widely reported that Chelsea paid Leicester close to $11 million in compensation to hire Maresca.
Is this a good fit for Chelsea?
The way Maresca, 44, led Leicester to promotion, racking up 97 points and doing so while playing attractive, possession-based football, suggests that Chelsea have gone for a totally different style of play.
A former assistant at Manchester City, Maresca is firmly from the Pep Guardiola school of thought and he will aim to implement his distinct playing style at Chelsea. Quickly.
“To join Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is a dream for any coach. It is why I am so excited by this opportunity. I look forward to working with a very talented group of players and staff to develop a team that continues the club’s tradition of success and makes our fans proud,” Maresca said.
Chelsea’s owners added: “We are thrilled to welcome Enzo into the Chelsea family. We look forward to supporting him and the rest of the sporting team in fulfilling their potential and our expectations over the years to come. He is a highly gifted coach and leader that we are confident can help fulfill our vision and competitive goals for the club.”
Look, not keeping hold of Mauricio Pochettino after their fine finish to the season was already a bit of a strange decision from Chelsea.
But now it make a bit of sense based on the direction the directors want the club to head in. It is clear that the people making decision on the football side of the club want Chelsea to play a more attractive, possession-based style.
Maresca will deliver that but it is a totally different style of play from Pochettino and it will be tough for this young Chelsea squad to once again totally change their playing identity. Chelsea have to stick with a long-term plan but it appears that more short-term pain could be on the horizon unless Maresca’s methods are picked up right away.
