01/01/26 07:10:00
Printable Page
01/01 07:09 CST Maresca leaves Chelsea midway through turbulent season after
reported clash with ownership
Maresca leaves Chelsea midway through turbulent season after reported clash
with ownership
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
MANCHESTER, England (AP) --- Enzo Maresca left his post as Chelsea head coach
on Thursday after a reported deterioration in his relationship with the Premier
League club's hierarchy.
The Italian coach was midway through his second season in charge. In his first
season, he won the Conference League and Club World Cup.
Last month, Maresca said he had experienced his "worst" 48 hours at Chelsea and
expressed his unhappiness at a lack of support at the club, but didn't go into
specific reasons.
Chelsea is in fifth place in the Premier League, but has won just one of its
last seven league matches, and has advanced to the English League Cup
semifinals, where it will play Arsenal over two legs.
"With key objectives still to play for across four competitions including
qualification for Champions League football," Chelsea said in a statement,
"Enzo and the club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting
the season back on track."
Chelsea is coming off a 2-2 home draw against Bournemouth in the league on
Tuesday, and next plays second-place Manchester City away on Sunday.
The club said Chelsea's achievements under Maresca "will remain an important
part of the club's recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to
the club."
There was no immediate word on his potential successor, with Chelsea seeking a
fifth full-time manager since the takeover of the club by American investors,
fronted by Todd Boehly, in May 2022.
In the past 3 1/2 years, Chelsea has spent hundreds of million of pounds
(dollars) in what looked from the outside a chaotic bid to sign players to
refresh its squad. It now has one of the youngest and most talented squads in
the Premier League, with star players including Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and
Estevao, but managers have struggled to get the players to gel as a team after
so many changes.
Out of all the managers to have led Chelsea in that period --- and they include
Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino, the current coaches of England and the
United States, respectively --- Maresca appeared to have handled the chaos the
best.
Yet he reportedly didn't feel appreciated given the tough working conditions
and, according to the BBC, recently switched agents. A few weeks ago, media
reports in England linked Maresca with a possible move to Man City --- where he
briefly worked under Pep Guardiola --- should Guardiola eventually leave,
though Maresca played the reports down.
Chelsea's results have taken a downturn in recent weeks, since a 3-0 win over
Barcelona in the Champions League in November.
The team's only league win in the past month was a 2-0 over Everton. There have
been draws with Arsenal, Newcastle and Bournemouth (twice) and losses to Leeds
and Aston Villa.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
