Enzo Maresca is named the new head coach of Chelsea

Enzo Maresca has been appointed manager of Chelsea for a period of five years. At the very least, the new manager has taken on the responsibility of getting the team back to the Champions League. In his only full season as head coach, the 44-year-old guided Leicester to the Championship title this year. He takes over for Mauricio Pochettino, who departed Chelsea two weeks ago with mutual consent.

With Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly owning Chelsea for two years, Maresca is the fifth manager following Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Frank Lampard, and Pochettino. Bruno Saltor, who replaced Potter as interim coach for one game in April 2023, is not on the list.

The duration of Maresca’s contract, which includes a one-year club option, is noteworthy; Pochettino was granted two years plus a one-year club option; this is a reflection of the owners’ intention to take a different approach. Five straight Premier League victories, a sixth-place result, and qualification for the Uefa Conference League marked the end of Pochettino’s tenure. This was an improvement over the team’s 2022–2023 12th place finish. However, instability was always present, and it was difficult to deny the impression that Pochettino wasn’t the right fit for the owners. Not all of the players were delighted about Pochettino’s departure.

Maresca has accepted his place in the club’s hierarchy, even if he formally begins on July 1. Pochettino wanted more control over everything, including hiring, while Maresca is content to focus on coaching and pursuing the goals set forth by the owners in the program for the season’s last matchup with Bournemouth.

“Consistently winning or contending for the Premier League” and “consistently playing in the Champions League” were mentioned in the message. Chelsea qualified as the 2021 Champions League winners and will participate in the redesigned Club World Cup in the summer of 2025.

“Any coach’s dream is to work for one of the biggest teams in the world, Chelsea. That’s the reason this chance excites me so much,” Maresca stated. “I’m excited to work with a very talented group of players and staff to build a team that wins championships and inspires pride in our supporters,” the player said.

Pep Guardiola is one of Maresca’s influences because he worked under him at Manchester City, first managing the team’s elite development squad in 2020–21, the year they won Premier League 2 by a margin of 14 points. He managed Parma for a brief period the next season, winning four and losing four of the team’s thirteen Serie B games. He then rejoined City in the summer of 2022 as Guardiola’s assistant, helping the team to a treble-winning season.

Comparably to Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal and another former assistant to Guardiola at City, Maresca and Guardiola share several playing style traits. Maresca’s preferred system is 4-3-3, and the Chelsea management is confident that his style will work with the team’s technically proficient players. Maresca is preoccupied with positional play and patient possession.

At the beginning of his playing career, Maresca left his home country of Italy at the age of eighteen to sign with West Brom. This helped him get a transfer to Juventus, where he would play with Antonio Conte and work under Carlo Ancelotti and Marcello Lippi. At West Ham in the early years of his coaching career, Maresca served as Manuel Pellegrini’s assistant. Guardiola is by no means his sole inspiration.

In order to gain a feel for the job—reviving a team that was on its knees following the shocking relegation from the Premier League—Maresca traveled to Leicester in the summer of last year and spent the first two months living at the training facility. All he had to do was get them back up and running again. The departure of Youri Tielemans, Harvey Barnes, and James Maddison was insignificant. Maresca fulfilled.

The fact that he “no longer wants to be part of our vision” “disappointed” Leicester. They will be compensated with approximately £10 million for Maresca and the six backroom staff members who also joined Chelsea. They are Willy Caballero, a former goalkeeper and assistant manager for Chelsea, Danny Walker, Michele De Bernardin, Marcos Álvarez, the fitness coach, Javier Molina Caballero, the first-team analyst, and Roberto Vitiello, the former development coach.

Brentford’s Bernardo Cueva, a set-piece coach, has arrived, according to Chelsea. The news that he will be joining has been known for a few months. When asked about the appointment in March, Pochettino was reticent.