On Tuesday evening in Cardiff, Chelsea fans chanted Enzo Maresca’s name after a Carabao Cup quarter-final victory. A banal scene for a trophy-winning coach? Not at Chelsea. A few days earlier, the Italian had dropped a bombshell at a press conference, referring to the “worst 48 hours” of his mandate because of a “lack of support”, without ever naming the culprits. While his sporting record is solid (Club World Cup, Conference League), this media outing and the rumors sending him to Manchester City suggest that Maresca could be looking for a way out rather than fighting against his own leaders.
Enzo Maresca has everything to be happy. He has just qualified Chelsea for a third consecutive semi-final since his arrival in the summer of 2024. He brought the Champions League back to Stamford Bridge, won the Conference League and, above all, the Club World Cup, a triumph that he values “as much as the C1”. However, the Italian seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. His cryptic exit after the win against Everton, citing a lack of internal support, cast a chill. “ In general, in general »he repeated when asked who he was targeting.
This uneasiness is all the stranger because Maresca succeeded where many failed: he won. But at Chelsea, winning does not guarantee peace. As soon as he arrived, he had to face skepticism from fans, nostalgic for a Pochettino who was starting to find the right formula. If the chant “We’ve got our Chelsea back!” » resonated last winter, criticism of his style of play considered slow and his excessive rotations never stopped. Today, Maresca seems tired of having to prove his worth every week.
