It’s been a fascinating transition at Chelsea this summer. Players were largely very happy with Mauricio Pochettino, but the results under Enzo Maresca have been better, and the new man is also going down very well.
It’s tough for the players to praise the new guy without seeming to throw shade on the last guy, and visa versa. Even though, largely, they were all pretty happy with both.
Marc Cucurella certainly owes Pochettino a lot. He was on his way out of the club a year ago, but following his return from injury at the start of this year he went from strength to strength, and he’s really turned around his career at Chelsea, and the general perception of him.
Part of the outcome of his great period under Poch was a callup to the Spain squad for the Euros. He ended up being first choice and a key player for them as they won the tournament. Now a regular for Luis de la Fuente’s team, the left back spoke during this international break about the Argentine’s impact on his game:
“He [Pochettino] and the staff helped me a lot to know that work is going to help you. They really liked working, when I got into their rhythm and style, it was great. I ended up seeing that every time I worked it was for me and I arrived at the Euros in perfect shape.”
Cucurella looks to kick on
Now he’s fully settled as our first choice option in that position, Cucurella has to kick on and continue to improve weak areas of his game that continue to mean there are doubts about his ceiling. If Pochettino got him going, it’s Maresca who can polish him into a really top class player.
