Inside Enzo Maresca's Chelsea exit: Rotation disagreements, Man City talks and defender woe
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Simon Johnson and more
Enzo Maresca left Chelsea on New Year's Day but the seeds of his exit were sown many months before
Additional reporting: Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, Pol Ballus, Liam Twomey and James Horncastle
There was no emotional goodbye from Enzo Maresca in the Chelsea dressing room after the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
Maresca would go on to not attend the post-match press conference — assistant Willy Caballero spoke on his behalf instead.
Sources speaking to The Athletic, who, like all of those spoken to for this article, asked to do so under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say the Italian got changed and left without saying a word to his players.
Initial suggestions that he was ill were a smokescreen. People with knowledge of Maresca’s situation say he was determined to leave at that stage. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s patience had also run out following what took place after the final whistle. A club committed to a two-year review for Maresca was about to see that cut short.
The Chelsea players were unaware of what was going on but knew something might be afoot on their journey home from Stamford Bridge. They received a message that a scheduled recovery session on Wednesday, which was to be followed by a day off, was suddenly being changed to two days off.
Talks took place on New Year’s Eve between Maresca’s agent Jorge Mendes and Chelsea over his departure instead. Some sources have told The Athletic that Maresca resigned; other people at the club say the decision was taken by them.
As The Athletic reported early on Thursday morning, the board convened to discuss what to do next. In truth, it was just a formality. A vote was taken and was unanimous, Maresca’s position at the club had become untenable. At 12.15pm UK time, a statement was released on the club’s website that Chelsea and Maresca had ‘parted company’.
A month ago to the day, the mood music coming out of Chelsea was very positive after good results against Barcelona and Arsenal. On December 12, it emerged he had been named the Premier League manager of the month for November. Yet some of the issues which led to the bond deteriorating had already taken place by then, although few saw the speed of his demise coming.
Chelsea always intended to review Maresca’s performance, along with many other aspects at the club, at the end of his second season in charge.
Even though there had been issues, this remained the plan right up until the immediate aftermath of the Bournemouth fixture.
The only thing to resolve now that he has left, with three and a half years left on his contract, was the level of compensation. People with knowledge of the situation insist his deal will not be paid up in full and the settlement will not have a negative financial impact on the club. A general plan of giving every Chelsea head coach a five-year contract with a 12-month option with break clauses that are favourable to the club will continue.
Maresca left Chelsea on New Year’s Day (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Sources have told The Athletic that Chelsea had given Maresca two votes of confidence before things went sour. One of those occasions was in the days after the 2-1 defeat at Atalanta on December 9, when he was assured his job was not at risk after he had conveyed concerns about what would happen if they lost their next match to Everton.
The timing of this was significant, given Maresca then complained about experiencing ‘the worst 48 hours of his career’ due to a lack of support at Stamford Bridge after securing a 2-0 win over Everton. This came as a surprise to everyone at the club, including the hierarchy and players.
Chelsea did not want the negative scrutiny that inevitably followed and the unwelcome distraction it caused.
Maresca’s press conferences in general had been a cause for concern. While he came across as stern, those close to the former head coach say he has wanted opportunities to show he is a relaxed person.
There had been some outbursts which did not go down well during his tenure. Just one example of this was talking about the club needing to buy a central defender following Levi Colwill’s anterior cruciate ligament injury in August. While Maresca was consulted on transfers, his job was primarily to take charge of the team. He was told to use the several defenders he had, with the club keen for Josh Acheampong’s development to continue. Sources say this was a cause of angst between both parties for a while, although it dissipated. People with knowledge of Chelsea’s actions add that they did look for another defender but could not find a suitable candidate. They point out that Liverpool also wanted a centre-back but ended up not adding one in the summer.
Those with knowledge of the situation stressed to The Athletic that Maresca had a very likeable personality behind the scenes at the training ground, which made him popular with a lot of the players. Maresca demonstrated this in a light-hearted exchange with The Athletic before one press conference in August, away from the cameras. After getting out of his car with one of his young sons, he was asked if the young man in question was a new signing. Maresca replied, “He is our new centre-back”. Moments later, with the media briefing now underway, he was back in serious mode and making it clear a solution to Colwill’s prolonged absence would be found internally.
Jokes were understandably in short supply in the time around his post-Everton press conference. Maresca had his reasons. People close to Maresca say his outburst was a reaction to the constant recommendations made by the medical department over the minutes players should play. This was part of the medical department’s remit to help protect players with a history of injury or those coming back from injury to try and help them avoid any setbacks. They would sit down with Maresca two days before every game to detail where every individual was at.
So, for example, it would be explained that out of a 24-man squad, 21 might be ruled as free to use however he pleased. The three others would be earmarked for a certain number of minutes according to the information at their disposal. The players in question would also generally know how long they were scheduled to be on the pitch for. This practice had borne good results. Captain Reece James has been available for selection for a year.
Earlier in the season, people at Chelsea said he had been doing a great job in terms of rotating the squad in general since taking over as part of their backing for him following consecutive league defeats to Manchester United and Brighton.
However, Chelsea sources say he went on to ignore instructions regarding the medical department’s recommendations on an individual’s playing time on more than one occasion. This was a major factor. They say that the key issue was that players returning from injury were given a set number of minutes that they could play, and that players were on board. However, Maresca would go beyond this amount, which would then mean the medical team would recommend different training for the next few days, and then the minutes set by the medical department for their next appearance would change.
Playing James for the full 90 minutes for three games in a row in December (Bournemouth, Atalanta, Everton), which was the first time he had done that for two years due to hamstring issues, was one of the bones of contention.
Chelsea want the medical department to act independently of any head coach and see the medical department’s advice as key to the team also being in a position to finish the season strongly.
People close to Maresca say that he was very concerned about the health of all Chelsea’s players, but that the recommendations by the medical department were a big part of why he wanted to leave.
Separate to this, people with knowledge of Chelsea’s perspective say his reluctance or lack of trust to play some of the young players was cause for alarm. Just as an example, Andrey Santos, 21, Jorrel Hato, 19, and Acheampong, 19, have started just 11 league games between them this season. Estevao Willian, 18, has been one of the main positives, but has been in the first XI only 11 times in 28 matches.
People close to Maresca say he played them when it was relevant to show his trust in the young players — and that the impact medical department policy had on his selection decisions became a breaking point for him, especially as he faced all the criticism when results went awry. Maresca’s behaviour post-Bournemouth came after he had been booed by fans and faced chants of, “You don’t know what you’re doing” after he substituted Cole Palmer — who was out of action for nearly three months this season with a groin problem — for a second home game in a row.
Sources close to Maresca also claim that influence on selection was not just about workload, but that he was also told to use players to maintain their transfer value. Chelsea sources deny this is the case, but say any comments regarding selection came from the guidance provided by the medical department, as explained above. Maresca was encouraged to rotate the team to ensure freshness for the end of the season, as well as a general desire to develop and improve players. But he would select the team.
Chelsea’s owners will need to find a new head coach (Clive Rose/Getty Images)
He was not happy about a lack of public backing from the club for his work. Chelsea felt their actions since he took over, including the conversations held with him, demonstrated that this should not have been the case.
For example, the club stood by him during a poor run between late December and mid-March in his first season when they lost as many games (seven) as they won over the course of 17 fixtures in all competitions. When pressure was mounting from the outside again in September, the club made it clear to the media that his position was not in jeopardy and stressed the two-year review was still in place.
Sources say Maresca would often speak to at least some members of the hierarchy after every game. The chats in the dressing room were normal and took place whatever the result. Club sources say the practice is about showing everyone, including the players, support, and not a case of grilling Maresca about what had just taken place.
The disappointing run of results — Chelsea won one of his last seven league games and two from nine in all competitions — was a problem by the end. Dropping a Premier League high of 15 points from winning positions was seen as costing them at least second place in the table. They are currently fifth, just three points above Fulham in 11th. Missing out on five points when leading away in Qarabag (drew 2-2) and Atalanta (lost 2-1) has also damaged their chances of qualifying automatically for the last 16 of the Champions League.
Maresca was contractually obliged to do so regarding dialogue with any other club. Sources say Juventus also made an approach, but people with knowledge of Juventus’s position say they are happy with Luciano Spalletti and have no intention to look for someone else for their position. They add that the club never even discussed the possibility of talking to Maresca.
Sources close to Maresca insist he made it clear that he had no intention of leaving and was happy to renew his deal — although discussions did not take place about fresh terms. People at Chelsea say they had good reason for this — Maresca was in the second season of a minimum five-year deal.
The admission of being approached by other teams, combined with the bad form and that Everton press conference, raised doubts at Stamford Bridge over Maresca’s focus. Chelsea have not won since his candidacy at City was revealed by The Athletic.
The noise around Maresca was only growing. With Chelsea still competing on all fronts, they have nine games in all four competitions this month. It was felt to be better to part ways now in order to improve their form.
Maresca was appreciated for the job he did in finishing fourth in the Premier League last season, plus winning the Conference League and Club World Cup. Yet Chelsea sources were wary of the success going to his head a little when it was deemed the work of the collective rather than any one individual. People close to Maresca insist his attitude remained the same.
Some insiders described him as having an arrogant demeanour, but many of the players enjoyed working and playing under him. Multiple sources say that whatever issues he had with the club were not taken into the dressing room. It was still seen as a positive environment to be around.
One source had been told by a senior player how Maresca was seen as giving stability to the club and a major factor in how they were able to compete against the best sides in matches. But now Maresca has gone, they fear the team has gone back to square one and that his departure will have a major impact on the dressing room.
Chelsea have now parted ways with four permanent head coaches since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium took over in May 2022. And the source says the player believes it sends a message that it will be difficult for Chelsea to contend for trophies on a regular basis if this regular change in the dugout approach continues. Chelsea sources believe the club are still in a strong position to compete and that the next coach will fit the playing style in place, which will limit the disruption.
Conversely, sources close to other players have told The Athletic that Maresca made earning a place in the side too difficult. Certain players did not know how to earn his tactical trust.
Another source close to squad members spoke about how some of the players were frustrated about Maresca’s rotation and how it meant they struggled to get into a rhythm. By playing one game and then being out of the side again, it meant they found it harder to find their form. People close to Maresca admit players always want to play more, even if they understood the rotation policy.
One source close to another senior player believed that some of Maresca’s actions since winning the Club World Cup were those of a man wanting to be seen more like one of his biggest idols in Guardiola, and have more influence, even though he knew from day one how the Chelsea structure operated. A source close to Maresca denies this. Maresca’s decision to change his representatives in October to ‘super agent’ Mendes was also seen as a significant step within the football community.
Maresca now has time to plan his next career move with Mendes, with his reputation enhanced from his spell at Chelsea, regardless of how it ended. Chelsea are only five points behind where they were last season, despite the regular absences of Palmer, Colwill and Moises Caicedo this season. Under his watch, they also never lost three Premier League games in a row, and it is easy to forget they won both the Conference League and Club World Cup in the last 12 months.
As for Chelsea, the next incumbent — Strasbourg coach Liam Rosenior is the leading contender — will have a talented squad to regalvanise and fulfil Chelsea’s ambition to qualify for the Champions League and win a trophy.
