Enzo Maresca capped off his debut season for Chelsea by winning the UEFA Conference League final against Real Betis on Wednesday night.
Additionally, he also guided the Blues to a top-four finish in the Premier League and helped them secure UEFA Champions League football for next season.
While the jury is still out on what to make of Maresca’s season, he now guides Chelsea into the upcoming Club World Cup, hoping to clinch that piece of silverware as well.
Though the mention of Enzo Maresca’s first season may divide opinion among the fans, he certainly has a fan in the form of former Manchester United legend Paul Scholes.
When discussing Italian coach Maresca, Scholes told The Overlap: “The manager has done great, really, when you think about it. I was sat here last year saying he could be the first one to go. It was such a mess. For him to get them to finish fourth and win that (Conference League) was brilliant.”
While it is easy to see why Scholes feels the way he does about Maresca’s first season in charge of Chelsea, it is also important to understand that the Italian has not been faultless this year.
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The 45-year-old had to take the blame when Chelsea’s form dropped off around Christmas last year. However, the Blues really pulled their sleeves up in the final month to qualify for the Champions League and to win the Conference League. In fact, they won five of their remaining five league matches to clinch fourth spot.
In fairness, Maresca has given himself a great foundation in his first year to build on moving forward. And it will be interesting to see to the manager builds on this foundation going forward.
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