Enzo Maresca has revealed how Leicester City players burst into his house at 2am looking for a party after their promotion to the Premier League was confirmed.
Chelsea's head coach says he has 'no idea' how Foxes fans will welcome him back to the King Power Stadium on Saturday, but insists his bond with the team was special.
Leicester secured their return to the elite level of English football as Leeds lost 4–0 at QPR on 26 April. Maresca was celebrating at home when a tap on the window in the early hours of the morning led to him discovering his stars waiting for him outside. his garden.
“I was at home watching the game (QPR vs Leeds) and when it finished all the staff arrived,” Maresca said. 'We had a normal party, with family, children, the staff, Willy (Caballero), Danny (Walker), Robby (Vitiello).
'Later – very late – the players came. The first face I saw was Hamza (Choudhury), but they didn't even knock on the door – they were in the garden and then at my window. When I closed the curtains, it was his face there.
'It was probably the best gift I got last season. It showed how close the team was, and the connection with the players, that they could go to parties in different places and still all arrive at my house. I will always be grateful to them. As a player I was lucky to win things, but I never thought about going to the manager's house.'
Asked how he thinks Leicester fans will welcome him back to the King Power, Maresca said: “I have no idea. But I know how I'll be with them. I will be grateful to the club, the players and the fans. Because it was a fantastic season. I have no control over how they will receive me. But I can decide how I receive them.'
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was among those who turned up unannounced at Chez Maresca. The 26-year-old midfielder followed his manager from Leicester to Chelsea for £30million but has yet to start a Premier League game.
“Kiernan was the most important player at Leicester,” Maresca said. 'He moved to Chelsea to become a different player. You have to accept that.
'You probably have difficulty accepting that at first. Now things are better. As a manager I am undoubtedly very happy with Kiernan. But for him, he definitely has to keep working, wait for the opportunity and take it, just like he does in the Conference League. He's doing well.'
Comments