- Chelsea have confirmed that Enzo Maresca will be their new manager
- The Blues were impressed by the former Leicester manager in several key areas
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Chelsea have officially confirmed the appointment of Enzo Maresca as their new manager.
The Italian, who guided Leicester City to the Championship title this season, has been given the responsibility of replacing Mauricio Pochettino – who led the Blues to a sixth place finish in the top-flight.
He is the latest manager to be given the keys at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues taking a huge plunge to bring in the 44-year-old, who impressed during his one season at Leicester.
Before that he managed Parma and was part of Pep Guardiola‘s backroom staff at Manchester City.
Maresca was the unanimous No 1 choice of the club’s ownership and directors after evaluating the options they had.
Enzo Maresca has been named as the new manager of Chelsea after impressing at Leicester
Maresca was Chelsea’s No 1 option with their owners and co-sporting directors (Todd Boehly pictured)
Maresca led Leicester back to the Premier League at the first time of asking in his first season with them
Co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart led the search, with the club’s executives including Behdad Eghbali, Jose E Feliciano and Todd Boehly collectively endorsing his appointment.
Maresca impressed with his champion mentality, as well as his top-flight experience from working with Manchester City.
A former assistant of Guardiola, he was christened ‘Diet Pep’ by some City supporters, and Chelsea are confident he will bring the possession-based brand of football they want.
The Blues have struggled over the past two seasons, finishing 12th in the 2022-23 season, and sixth last season – after a strong finish to the campaign under Pochettino which got them into the Europa Conference League.
But sources have told Mail Sport that players are excited about the hiring after hearing positive things from players he has worked with in the past, and there is optimism they can make progress under his guidance.
Maresca in his statement said: ‘To join Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, is a dream for any coach. It is why I am so excited by this opportunity.
‘I look forward to working with a very talented group of players and staff to develop a team that continues the club’s tradition of success and makes our fans proud.’
The Italian is keen to hit the ground running and work on a system which he hopes will be a winning formula at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca was nicknamed ‘Diet Pep’ after working with Guardiola at Manchester City
Maresca replaces Mauricio Pochettino who left the club after a sixth placed finish
Chelsea were impressed that Maresca asked for data on players throughout the squad from first team to the youth ranks so that he is best prepared for when work begins on the training ground.
Sources also say that he watched matches from last season while away on holiday after the end of the Championship season.
Mail Sport exclusively revealed the group of best-in-class coaches set to join Maresca at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, with Chelsea agreeing during several positive rounds of conversations that he should have access to the world’s most skilled coaching and technical staff.
Former Blues goalkeeper Willy Caballero will join Maresca as assistant manager, having won praise for his innovative ideas while acting as a sounding board for the Italian at Leicester.
Chelsea players are optimistic that the club can make progress under the guidance of Maresca
Coach Danny Walker, goalkeeping coaches Michele de Bernardin and Ben Roberts, fitness coach Marcos Alvarez and first-team analyst Javier Molina Caballero are also joining.
Bernardo Cueva, a highly-regarded set piece coach who has been brought in from Brentford, will immediately join the first-team coaching staff ahead of the upcoming Premier League season.
Finally, Roberto Vitiello will act as development coach at Stamford Bridge and be tasked with nurturing Chelsea’s core of young players.
Maresca is the fourth permanent head coach to work for Chelsea since the current ownership took over in May 2022, after Pochettino, Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel. Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard previously acted as interims also.
