After the obscure seasons and the failed gambling, Chelsea finally found the winning formula. A formula is not new, but full of weight: putting faith in Italian. And Enzo Maresca, the name seemed to be a test, turned out to be the correct answer for the Stamford Bridge team.
Italian quality has never been lost in London
History does not lie. Over the past three decades, the most brilliant lipstick signs in Chelsea's journey have been associated with the Italian coach. In 1998, Gianluca Vialli brought back the Winners' Cup Cup (C2 Cup), also the first European title of the club.
In 2012, Roberto Di Matteo wrote the Munich fairy tale with the first Champions League trophy in history. Previously, Carlo Ancelotti also helped Chelsea win the prestigious Premier League and FA Cup in 2009/10 season, which has never happened in the history of the blue shirt team.
Antonio Conte came, Chelsea immediately won the Premier League. Maurizio Sarri took only one year to bring back the Europa League. Even Claudio Ranieri, who came before the Abramovich period, once brought Chelsea to the Champions League semi -finals. No title, but he sowed a modern Chelsea.
Now, that cycle is extended by Enzo Maresca, another Italian. But this time is an unknown Italian, no Premier League experience, no flashy heritage. Just a “dream hands” carrying the philosophy of modern, alert and effective Italian football.
Maresca – who “simplifies complex things”
There is a very meaningful thing in the way Chelsea beat PSG in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final: It is a victory without ostentatization, but absolutely convincing. No one thinks the powerful team PSG is so helpless against a Chelsea playing with calculations and science.
Maresca caused PSG to disorder by pressing not extremely good ball. But when there was a ball, Chelsea proved to be redundant at every hot spot. It is not victory thanks to the inspiration, but the result of the system, a complex system presented in a simple way … surprised.
In less than 1 year, Maresca conquered all challenges. He helped Leicester promoted the Premier League, winning the Conference League with Chelsea (even though it only released the auxiliary squad), and now makes the Blues a world champion.
During the tournament in the US, Chelsea is the team using the most players (27 people). That way of rotation helps the squad always keep the freshness and flexibility to destroy the opponent in the final stage.
Joao Pedro, the contract of 70 million euros that Chelsea owner spent on the semi -finals and finals, scored 3 goals in 2 matches. But the great merit still belongs to Maresca, who knows who to use, at any time, in the game.
Chelsea returned in the old way, in the new form
Do not say Chelsea lucky. Do not think Maresca meets. Everything is calculated. Even using the 4-2-3-1 diagram to confront PSG's 3-4-3 is the intentional flag country. Chelsea did not explode in the Klopp -style, no PEP -style control, but they made the opponent play the way they wanted. And that is the level of the winner.
Maresca is continuing the Green History with a new chapter: The chapter of the generation of modern Italian coach replaces Ancelotti, Ranieri and his compatriots. A generation is not much aura, but full of strategies when he is a general. And the Italian style is no longer the old Catenaccio defense. The new generation of coaches is bringing control, science and pragmatic football.
One thing is for sure: Chelsea will not forget this lesson. When lost, find the Italian. When you need a title, call an Italian. And when he needed to return to the peak, Maresca, a quiet Italian, proved: He was the right person to lead the way, bringing Chelsea to the highest podium of the world football.
The wave spread in Europe
European football is witnessing many Italian coaches resonating such as: De Zerbi helped Marseille win the Ligue 1 runner -up, Francesco Farioli almost brought Ajax championship in the first year, Calzona impressed with Slovakia at Euro 2024 … and the peak of Maresca with the world championship with Chelsea.
