When Chelsea takes on Manuel Pellegrini and his real betis side on Wednesday evening, they will be confronted with a manager with a greater influence on the blues than some think.
About 15 years ago, Pellegrini seemed in Malaga when he saw one of his players, in the thirty, with an eye for the game – and told him he had to pursue a career in coaching.
His name was Enzo Maresca.
“You can often see which players can become good coaches – from the impression they have on others, how they absorb concepts in training,” Pellegrini said recently.
“With both Enzo and Willy [Caballero, Chelsea assistant coach]I was sure that they would become influential coaches at a global level. “
In a turn of fate, Pellegrini is a step away from delivering betis a first European title – but the manager in his own way is one that he has helped create.
Maresca not only became a coach, but Pellegrini took care of the Italian as an assistant at West Ham – and still guides him to this day.
“I define him as a professional father, because if I have to make big decisions, we will be in contact,” said Maresca this month, who then said that he spoke about coaching problems as recently as last week.
You wonder how many of Chelsea's problems that Maresca has unveiled to Pellegrini this season.
Pellegrini not only pushed Maresca into the coaching world, but he also developed him – to the point that he eventually took a job like Chelsea.
“I learned a lot from him, especially how players manage how to manage a team,” added Maresca. That will have been useful at Chelsea, given the number of players they have signed in recent years.
Now there is a sense of unity in Chelsea – which results in their qualification for the Champions League.
Maresca and Pellegrini are not only historically but also philosophically connected. There are certain similarities between the two managers – no better coupled than their views on offside.
In Chelsea this season, Maresca used the tactic that is generally known as the 'Pellegrini offside staircase' – playing a high line on the edge of their own criminal area, in an aggressive way to defend.
The use of Maresca of this tactic in Chelsea is well noted – but not always in a positive light, because the better sides have used the method of the blues to their own advantage.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle – three of the top five of the Premier League – have all scored goals against Chelsea this season by successfully beating that offside bladder. Aston Villa also beat it in the 2-1 win over the blues in Villa Park.
But although there are negatives – show how far Maresca should go to become the title -winning coach Pellegrini in England – there are also many positives. And the offside trap can work.
Only Liverpool and Villa have caught their opponents more often than Chelsea in the Premier League season, just disappeared, which emphasizes how effective Maresca learning from Pellegrini can be.
Maresca has confronted this season with his critics in Chelsea, but as his debut campaign reaches the end, as the Italian is a 'right place', the right moment 'Type Manager.
His experience in coaching the B team of Manchester City – where he worked with people like Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia – helped to achieve results with the youngest team in the Premier League history.
His time that works as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at City also helped him at Chelsea. The inverted full-back tactics that Guardiola brought to England has created positive career progression with people like Marc Cucurella and a reviving Reece James.
Do not forget his match days as a midfielder, where he even scored twice for Seville in a European final against Middlesbrough in 2004. His input helped his input to have helped Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez to justify the eye -display reimbursements that Chelsea was supervised for the couple.
But getting results and the ongoing players is one thing – they turn into winners is another.
Hands on a trophy, something that the blues have not done since 2021 – the year that they won the Champions League and Club World Cup – would be a big step in not only the Maresca project, but also the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital One.
To do that, Maresca has to beat his mentor. With all the influences that the Chilean coach has had on his career, all roads seem to lead to Pellegrini.