The new Chelsea coach, Enzo Maresca, is looking to bring more aggression into the team to turn around their fortunes. Chelsea languished in mid-table for the majority of the Premier League campaign before a late charge under Mauricio Pochettino secured sixth place and a place in the Europa Conference League.
Maresca guided Leicester to promotion to the English top flight in his first season in charge. “When you join a club you try to analyse what the club and team needs to improve and do the right things,” he said on Monday.
“For me, it’s clear we need to create as soon as possible the right mentality and culture, a culture the fans can be proud of. We are going to try to be an aggressive team on the ball and off the ball and we need to create this connection between the fans and the club, especially at home.”
Maresca is Chelsea’s seventh Italian manager and is aiming to emulate his compatriots Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte and Roberto Di Matteo, who won six major trophies between them at the club. Gianluca Vialli, the Premier League’s first Italian manager, led Chelsea to their first appearance in the Champions League.
“One of the reasons for sure [I joined],” Maresca said. “I’m very proud to be an Italian manager here again. Probably there is something between Chelsea as a club, as a family, and Italian people that works well.”
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In his first league match in charge, Maresca will face Manchester City, where he previously worked as an assistant to Pep Guardiola during their 2022-23 treble-winning season.