SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Two members of Stanford University’s American football team tried to talk their way past security and into Chelsea‘s first training session on this summer’s preseason tour of the United States. “We just need to get something from our lockers … but don’t tell the coach,” one said to an unimpressed and unmoved guard at Stanford Stadium’s Gate 1, everyone bathed in Tuesday’s 90-degree Fahrenheit heat.
Intrigue around Chelsea abounds, particularly the 2024 version under new manager Enzo Maresca. The 44-year-old Italian, prised from Leicester City following their Championship-winning campaign to replace Mauricio Pochettino, is the club’s fourth permanent manager since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover of the club in May 2022.
A stunning £1 billion investment on players followed, but the results so far have not. The vast majority of this squad are signed on long-term contracts — eight years in some cases — and so the onus is squarely on the head coach to shape a talented group into a team capable of winning titles.
The first public glimpse came in Wednesday night’s friendly against Wrexham at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and it was perhaps more of an eye-opener than Maresca would have liked.
The League One side were eight minutes away from causing an upset as goals from Luke Bolton and Josh Marriott overturned Christopher Nkunku‘s 35th-minute opener. Lesley Ugochukwu salvaged parity with a late strike, but the 2-2 draw — while hardly important in isolation — is a reminder of the work that lies ahead in moulding this team in his own image.
Moulding Maresca’s Chelsea
Maresca was encouraged by the outlines of what he called a new “identity.”
His possession-based approach is well documented, and his Chelsea side enjoyed 73% of the ball in their first outing. There was also the use of inverted full-backs, Reece James stepping into midfield from right-back during the first half — 10 players were changed at half-time — before Malo Gusto picked up the baton in the second period.
James looked more at home there than Gusto, but it represents a marked shift for both players. James played in midfield earlier in his career, on loan at Wigan during the 2018-19 season, but both he and Gusto are predominantly at their best when flying down the right flank. Perhaps James pivoting to a more sedentary role will protect those troublesome hamstrings that have undermined the most recent part of his career to date.
Both goals Chelsea conceded came from losing the ball in their own half, a consequence of trying to play out from the back as Maresca demands.
“Tonight was important to start seeing the identity of the team and the identity is there tonight,” he said after the match. “For sure, we are going to concede goals this season playing out from the back. Hopefully, not too many. It is one of the risks that you have trying to build from behind.”
Sources told ESPN that many players found Pochettino’s preseason training programme particularly tough given the sheer amount of running and physical endurance it contained. Maresca’s early work has focused more on ball possession. The session those Stanford players tried to gatecrash was, in fact, only open to the media and around 20 to 30 VIPs — a combination of specially invited locals and others with connections to the Chelsea Foundation or sponsors.
It showcased a drill in which the players were encouraged to play the ball out from the back, a key component of the Italian’s preferred style. Maresca initially kept quiet as the players went through their warmups, but once that drill started, he was barking orders from the centre circle to help guide play. The team was told to move the ball quickly through midfield before working it wide for a cross finding a finisher in a central position.
Sources have told ESPN that many players have been impressed with Maresca’s sessions to date, having worked with a smaller group at Cobham prior to jetting out to the U.S. on Monday.
“The first message [to the group] is he loves the ball,” James told ESPN. “He loves playing, he’s very tactical and so [there’s been] a lot of information, a lot of understanding and a lot of playing and making mistakes to learn quicker.
“I think the new manager so far has been very good. He’s set the standards really high and I’m excited for the new season to start.”
Managing the Fernández fallout
Maresca’s first media engagements have been complicated by the ongoing controversy surrounding Enzo Fernández. The midfielder is the subject of investigations by both FIFA and Chelsea after posting a video in which he and several Argentina teammates sang a racist and derogatory chant about the heritage of French players.
It triggered a wider debate about cultural values and even led to the Argentinian national anthem being booed at their men’s national team’s opening game at the Olympics, held this summer in the French capital of Paris. At Chelsea, centre-back Wesley Fofana‘s decision to publicly brand Fernández’s video as “uninhibited racism” has magnified the problem — it is now undeniable that Fernández will have bridges to mend with certain teammates when he joins up with the squad on Monday.
“I don’t think there are any bad intentions behind [it] so starting from that point, for me it is quite easy,” Maresca told ESPN in an exclusive interview earlier this week. “The player already did a statement apologising.
“I don’t think [there will be a problem with team spirit] to be honest. Probably [Fofana’s comment] is the immediate reaction, but all in all, I don’t think so. I spoke with Enzo, but as I said, I spoke with all of them.”
1:04
Reece James hopes Chelsea can move forward amid Enzo video
Reece James hopes things can be resolved between Chelsea and Enzo Fernandez before the start of the new season.
Chelsea released a statement condemning Fernández’s actions and plan to send him on an educational course — in addition to a likely fine — but Maresca will need to take an active role in reintegrating the player given the lack of senior, experienced players in the squad. James is the club captain, aged 24, but Maresca refused to confirm whether he will remain so into the new season.
Pochettino used preseason to evaluate his options before selecting James 12 months ago, so there is nothing different in Maresca adopting a similar approach. Yet Pochettino did not have to deal with such a potentially divisive issue right at the start of his tenure.
Finding calm amid Chelsea’s chaos
Chelsea have adopted a deliberate policy of signing top young talent on long contracts with the aim of moulding them into a team. After Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Pochettino, Maresca is the fourth permanent manager charged with that responsibility. Yet none of Maresca’s predecessors were given an extended period of time to implement their methods. Tuchel was sacked within four months of the Boehly-Clearlake takeover, Potter lasted seven months while Pochettino left by mutual consent after a solitary season.
It was therefore tempting to ask whether Maresca is confident he will get the requisite time to succeed.
“For me, and also I think it is helpful for me, I just focus on how I can improve the players and how can I improve the team,” he replied. “Then from there, we are going to start games and try to win games.
“Talking about time, I’m not focused on that. I’m just focused for instance today on this afternoon session, how we can work with the players and try to improve them. The focus is just about that. I love to be focused on that. Also because I think it is a waste of energy, a waste of time thinking about timing.”
After spending so much on players, though, Chelsea expect to be competing for the game’s biggest prizes sooner rather than later. And after playing down any talk about time in the role, it felt significant that his next answer to a question about closing the gap on Manchester City and Arsenal made reference to the longevity of his counterparts.
“The only thing I can say is that City [have had] eight, nine years with the same manager,” Maresca said. “Mikel [Arteta] is at Arsenal already five years, so it is not only that we start this year … I am not saying that we need these kind of years to reach that kind of level, hopefully we can reach that kind of level very soon, but the only difference I see with Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City in this moment is the difference of time with the same manager.”
Both Arteta and City boss Pep Guardiola boast a level of control at their respective clubs that previous Chelsea managers have not enjoyed under Boehly-Clearlake. Sources have told ESPN that Tuchel, Potter and Pochettino all had various frustrations with the hierarchy’s approach to running the club. All three managers had a say in transfer targets, but theirs was just one voice in the room among co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart, data analysts informing decision making and, of course, co-owners Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
Others have input, too, such as head of global goalkeeping Ben Roberts and head of recruitment Joe Shields, who was particularly instrumental in the signing of Romeo Lavia from Southampton. Maresca must prove he can fit within that structure.
When asked if he was happy with the level of influence he will be given, he replied: “Absolutely, yes. It is difficult to judge the past. I was not here, so it is very difficult. The only thing I can say, when you go in the same direction — owner, sporting director and manager — it is much more easy for everyone.”
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is under a unique kind of pressure in this regard. The 25-year-old was signed from Leicester at Maresca’s request, and the midfielder’s success will therefore also double as validation of the head coach’s transfer market acumen in the eyes of many at the club.
A fast start on the pitch will help convince everyone that Maresca can succeed where his predecessors failed. All eyes will be on Chelsea as they aim to take the next steps.