Chelsea Didn’t Give Me Target – Coach Enzo Maresca

The newly appointed manager of Chelsea, Enzo Maresca, has emphasized that the club did not place any specific targets on him for the current Premier League season.

Enzo Maresca joined Chelsea after his stint at Leicester City following the exit of coach Mauricio Pochettino.

As Chelsea gear up to face Manchester City at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 18, Maresca clarified that he views his role as part of a long-term project spanning five years.

He stressed that there was no directive from the club to secure a Champions League spot this season but rather a gradual progression toward competing at the highest level.

Maresca said: “What I can say is that nobody from the club asked me for the Champions League this year.

“Nobody said to me ‘Enzo, we need to finish in the first four’ – what they said was we need to, step by step, arrive and compete with that.

“For sure if you ask me, my dream is to compete with the teams that, at this moment, are dominating English football.”

Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca expressed his admiration for Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, whom he worked with during his time at the club.

Maresca praised Guardiola as a visionary and innovator in football management, emphasizing that his experience working alongside Guardiola has greatly influenced his coaching philosophy.

He said: “I worked under [Carlo] Ancelotti as a player, [Marcello] Lippi as a player, [Manuel] Pellegrini as a player, and then I worked with Pep for two seasons at Manchester City.

“I try to take things from all of them and create my box to put everything inside.

“I don’t consider Pep a manager, I consider him a genius because he is ahead of the rest.

“When you are with him and close, of course, you try to see things and learn to create your idea [as a coach].”