Enzo Maresca will be a massive flop at Chelsea! Or will he not? Fantastic combination play, a unique 3-2-4-1 formation, a goalkeeper operating as an extra defender and the most aggressive pressing you'll ever see - that's just a small part of what you'll get to know about Maresca and his football!
Will he boost Chelsea beyond recognition or will he become a laughing stock? You are about to find out the answer in this video!
Enzo Maresca at Chelsea
Enzo Maresca has officially become Chelsea's new head coach after Mauricio Pochettino's unexpected departure! The Italian manager has penned a contract that runs until June 2029 with an option to extend it until the summer of 2030. The Blues will pay Leicester City a compensation package for Maresca's services, which could be just over £10 million.
“Appointing a coach from the Championship and without much experience for that kind of money? It sounds absolutely insane!” Chelsea fans shouted at first. But the club's owner, Todd Boehly, and his management team chose Enzo for reasons, and let us explain them in detail!
Real reasons why Chelsea chose Maresca
According to Sky Sports, Chelsea sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley were actively looking for a replacement for Pochettino and considered the pros and cons of each available coach. They both decided that Enzo Maresca was the perfect fit for the strategic vision of the sports project planned at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea bosses have been amazed by how well Maresca knows the team's squad and are intrigued by his connections with Pep Guardiola, adds Evening Standard's Nizaar Kinsella.
Maresca is one of Pep's many “pupils” and Chelsea hope Enzo will succeed just like Mikel Arteta did at Arsenal. Well, they do share similar stories: they both assisted Guardiola at different times, but left to start their own careers.
Besides, Maresca learned a lot from former West Ham United coach Manuel Pellegrini. Enzo worked as his assistant in the 2018/19 season.
“In terms of inspiration as a manager, for sure, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola both. They have been very important for me”.
Therefore, now Chelsea's board seems to come up with a clear idea: the team must be consistent at winning games through ball possession and by taking the initiative for attacks. Maresca's football perfectly fits the description! But what style of play did Enzo set up at Leicester City? Get ready for the most interesting part!
What kind of football does Enzo Mareschi play?
Enzo Maresca's game philosophy is based on five principles:
1) Intricate dominance in possession;
2) Deep build up;
3) Controlling the game;
4) Occupying the right spaces;
5) High “man to man” counter pressure to regain possession.
The Italian's favorite formation at the Foxes ranks was a 4-3-3 with adjustments to 3-2-4-1 or 3-2-5 during build-up and possession.
Under Maresca, Leicester always launched their attacks slowly, but thoughtfully and with full control of the situation.
The Foxes have been racking up their ball possession percentage, making it the second highest average in the Championship last season at 61%. Only Southampton's figure was higher - 65%.
In Maresca's vision, the build-up should start with sharp but well-calculated passes in a 3-2-4-1 formation. One inverted fullback goes to the central midfield area, leaving three defenders in the back. The goalkeeper comes out of the goal when needed, becoming the fourth defender and offering himself for passes!
In the center of the pitch, the relocated full-back and central midfielder form a pentagon-like shape with the defenders and stretch the opposition's pressing. The two insides play higher and search for free spaces between the lines. They either open up for long passes or draw attention away from the centre-forward or wingers.
The forward continues to spearhead attacks, but from time to time he drops into deep areas to receive passes from defenders and quickly involve the two central midfielders or insides. At the same time, the wingers stretch the rivals' fullbacks on the flanks.
In other words, baffling and dominating every part of the pitch is the basis of Maresca's philosophy! No wonder why Leicester's attacks, which result in goals, tend to take 40-50 passes and feature all 11 players!
As for the defense phase, the newly-minted Chelsea boss chooses a 4-5-1 or 4-1-4-1 formation. The inverted full-back returns to the defensive right-flank. The insides come down to help the central midfielder. Wingers and the centre-forward also drop lower to their half of the pitch.
Among other things, Maresca places great emphasis on suppressing counter-attacks. Last season, other teams often tried to outplay Enzo's team in this aspect, though they conceded only 41 goals in 46 fixtures, the fewest of any other team.
The ultra-aggressive man-to-man pressing also made the difference.
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