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01/01 13:17 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) --- Chelsea was back on the coaching carousel under
its American ownership on Thursday after Enzo Maresca left his position as
manager following a reported deterioration in his relationship with the Premier
League club's hierarchy.
There was no immediate announcement regarding the successor to Maresca. The BBC
and The Athletic reported that Liam Rosenior, who coaches French team
Strasbourg --- a club in the same ownership group as Chelsea, is a leading
contender.
Maresca was midway through his second year in charge, having won the Conference
League and Club World Cup in his first season at Chelsea.
However, the team has endured a turbulent last few months --- Chelsea has won
just one of its last seven Premier League matches to drop to fifth place ---
while Maresca publicly expressed his unhappiness at a lack of support at the
club in a post-match news conference on Dec. 13, when the Italian said he had
just experienced his "worst" 48 hours at Chelsea.
"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 has advanced to the English League Cup semifinals, where it will play
Arsenal over two legs, and begins its FA Cup campaign away to second-tier
Charlton on Jan. 10. In the Champions League, Chelsea is in 13th place in the
36-team league, two points off the eight automatic qualification spots with two
rounds of matches left.
Chaotic regime Chelsea is 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 Manchester City --- where he briefly worked under Pep Guardiola --- should Guardiola eventually leave, though Maresca played the reports down.
Dip in form Chelsea's results have taken a downturn since a 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League in November. The team's only league win in the past month was over Everton, 2-0. There have been draws with Arsenal, Newcastle and Bournemouth (twice) and losses to Leeds and Aston Villa. Its next game is at plays second-place Man City on Sunday. Chelsea said its achievements under Maresca "will remain an important part of the club's recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to the club." ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Chaotic regime Chelsea is 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 Manchester City --- where he briefly worked under Pep Guardiola --- should Guardiola eventually leave, though Maresca played the reports down.
Dip in form Chelsea's results have taken a downturn since a 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League in November. The team's only league win in the past month was over Everton, 2-0. There have been draws with Arsenal, Newcastle and Bournemouth (twice) and losses to Leeds and Aston Villa. Its next game is at plays second-place Man City on Sunday. Chelsea said its achievements under Maresca "will remain an important part of the club's recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to the club." ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
