Enzo Maresca: Chelsea Risk After Controversial Statement

What sowed discord was the vagueness maintained around the target of this criticism. Did he blame the public, the media, his leaders? Questioned on this point, he just blurted out: “that’s usually.” An accusatory outing that the English media sought to analyze, seeking to find out who the 45-year-old Transalpine was mad at.

For BBC consultant Alan Shearer, there is no doubt about the intention behind this message. “There is no doubt that he was speaking to his management and his owners. My hypothesis is that he did not feel protected after the defeat in midweek, and that hurt him.”analyzed the former Newcastle striker, in the same way as Wayne Rooney who detects the same target.

Chelsea indeed lost pitifully on the lawn of Atalanta, in the Champions League, Tuesday (2-1). A setback which came on top of the sequence of a defeat at Leeds (3-1), then a draw at Bournemouth (0-0), two teams which are not among the leaders of the championship. The Blues thus saw the podium slip away to five points in front of them and the title already to eight.

With his coronation in the Club World Cup this summer, Enzo Maresca bought himself real legitimacy. He, who is a young coach (45 years old) moved very quickly from the role of assistant to Pep Guardiola on the Manchester City bench, to the role of head coach at Leicester.

Faced with the reality of a big club

The 2016 English champion, just demoted to the Championship in 2023, absolutely wanted to return to the Elite. Enzo Maresca achieved this by flying over the championship. A performance which convinced the BlueCo consortium to entrust him with the reins of the London club from the summer of 2024. By joining one of the clubs with the biggest budget in the world, carrying out pharaonic transfers in spades, the Italian changed gear with all that that implies. The pressure of results, the expectations, the eyes of everyone scrutinizing you. It’s certainly an excess of all that that affected the manager this week. Much to England’s surprise.

Former international Danny Murphy (9 caps) was surprised to see Maresca’s reaction. “He was given a wonderful opportunity to coach such a big club. Did he expect to be given all the control because he won the Conference League?”he asked ironically in the show Match of the Day. In his second season at Chelsea, the Italian encountered ups and downs while being close to the leading duo, but missing every opportunity to catch up a little further behind them. With in particular pitiful results against lower ranked teams which lead to bad series.

Missteps that are not solely due to his choices. Despite its bloated workforce, certain players are difficult to replace, as he recalled on Saturday. “No matter who plays, the team is fantastic. With today (Saturday), that’s five games in twelve days… Of course, you see Cole Palmer on the field, we know he’s our best player, but we play almost the whole season without him.”

This Monday, there was inevitably once again talk of his enigmatic exit which ignited the powder. And he didn’t take back a word of what he said. “We are in a time where everyone can say what they want, I respect people’s opinions, I respect your opinion (the journalists). (…) It seems to me that when I want to say something, I am rather clear. I already reacted after the meeting, I don’t need to add more”he swept away. Enzo Maresca wants to be part of the elite of coaches, as evidenced by his signing with the Gestifute agency of the famous high-powered agent, Jorge Mendes.

However, this kind of outing could harm him, as Murphy recalled on the BBC. “Football is ruthless. They are multi-billionaire owners. If they feel like their coach is talking to them directly through the press, it’s not going to end well for him.” A warning confirmed by an echo from an anonymous source to The Telegraph. “If Maresca wants war, there will only be one winner, and it won’t be him.”

In his podcast, former Manchester United midfielder Wayne Rooney doesn’t really see how the situation could calm down. “Now that he has said that, I don’t think he will be protected because it will be difficult for the club to do so, which is a real shame.” Alone against everyone, Enzo Maresca will have to demonstrate solidity of character. Otherwise, as usual at Chelsea, another coach will take his place on the bench.