If you want a hint of how well Chelsea’s season is going… the debate on ESPN this week was “is Enzo Maresca a genius coach.”
All of the pundits were happy to agree with the idea that he’s doing a fantastic job, but none was quite ready to go with the word genius just yet.
Julien Laurens pointed out that having a second team to play in midweek while your starters rest (and your opposition have to play their main team) is a huge advantage, but he wasn’t trying to take anything away from some of the coach’s impact:
“Maresca created an incredible unity and team spirit… which you see on the pitch on Sunday,” the pundit commented.
It’s true. It’s been a while since we saw a Chelsea team look so confident after going 2-0 down in ten minutes.
You can see their discussion in the clip embedded here:
Enzo Fernandez gets stuck in against Tottenham. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Enzo Fernandez gets stuck in against Tottenham. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Other factors in Maresca’s superb surge to the top
Nedum Onuoha pointed to the Italian coach’s intense man management and personal training style as key to the rapid improvement of so many players:
“When you listen to the players speak… they’re very clear in what he wants from them, they’re very clear in what he wants from them… look at Nicolas Jackson this season, look at Pedro Neto.
Meanwhile Kasey Keller was impressed by how the coach had harnessed the youthful energy of his squad. He said that Chelsea “outworked” Tottenham. The point above about our fairly unique European situation also feeds into that, and there’s really a sense that everything’s coming together at the right time.
If Chelsea end up winning the title – or even if they just run Liverpool close – we might have to check in and see if ESPN have another discussion about whether Maresca is a genius.