Chelsea's Club World Cup victory is Enzo Maresca's redemption

In a move that couldn't have been more Italian, after 17 points in the first 14 matchdays, Parma decided to shelve the "Maresca project" at the end of November 2021. It was the year of their attempt to quickly rebound after relegation to Serie B, the year of Gianluigi Buffon's great return to goal, and the need to capitalize on owner Krause's massive investments. There was no time to waste: Maresca was out, and in came Beppe Iachini, the tried-and-true, the ideal man to lead the Ducali back to the top flight, at least theoretically. The result? Twelfth place at the end of the season, and everything was back to square one.

After less than four years, Enzo Maresca is on top of the world with his Chelsea team , one of the most intriguing and respected coaches in Europe, thanks to a journey he has never lost his way. He started out as an assistant, first at Ascoli and then at his beloved Sevilla, where he was called by Vincenzo Montella for his in-depth knowledge of the Andalusian environment, and then at West Ham, alongside Manuel Pellegrini, who had coached him at Malaga and predicted a future as a great manager. Then came Pep Guardiola's first call to coach Manchester City's "Elite Development Squad," a quick trip to Parma, a return to the Citizens' first-team staff in 2022, and the explosive rise that brought him to Chelsea , via a dream season with Leicester in the Championship .

One might say that for Maresca, thanks to the London club's millions, everything was too easy. But the reality is that Chelsea were coming off a couple of agonizing experiences, exacerbated by Boehly's investments that bore no fruit: twelfth place in 2023, in the season of four managers (Tuchel, Potter, the interregnum of Bruno Saltor and Lampard); sixth place in 2024, with Mauricio Pochettino only able to turn things around in the final minutes with a run of six wins and three draws in the final nine games, enough to cling to a place in the Conference League. And the Conference itself helped Maresca significantly rationalize a vast and undefined squad, which over the years had become the target of ridicule and mockery. Chelsea continued to pile players on top of each other without any apparent logic, becoming essentially uncoachable.

The Italian manager cleaned up and divided his squad, proceeding along two parallel tracks: the league team and the Conference League team . Taking advantage of the caliber of international competition, he gave vent to those who couldn't find a place in the Premier League circus, reaching the final and defeating Real Betis. And at the Club World Cup, he took advantage of a far from arduous path to once again reach the final act of the tournament, teaching a tactical lesson to those, like Luis Enrique, who had eliminated the Premier League powerhouses one after another in the Champions League. Chelsea was becoming like Manchester United's blender, then Maresca arrived, confirming the importance of coaches and their impact: there's no single path to victory, but the handle must be firm.

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