If your knowledge of chess is limited to cheating accusations with trembling beads and the Netflix drama The Queen's Gambit, then Enzo Maresca's 42-page thesis may not be the most compelling lecture that you could pick up in the dentist's office.
But between the talk about Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and the Nimzo-Indian defense and other complicated comparisons that can make a few people long for their filling, it offers a glimpse into the coach of the coach in the hope of strategizing his first trophy with Chelsea tonight.
It is entitled Calcio & Scacchi, or football and chess in English, and he wrote it while studying to Coverciano, the famous coaching school of the Italian football federation in Florence, before he ever became a manager.
“I believe that chess can train the spirit of a coach,” he writes, with the last page with a photo of Manuel Pellegrini. Maresca describes the 71-year-old Chileen as his 'football father'. He helped him with West Ham. They still call each other regularly.
Yet Pellegrini is now the opponent he wants to overcome more than all others, as the boss of real betis that he will encounter in the Conference League final in Wroclaw, Poland.
In addition to Pellegrini, there are images in the Thesis of Maresca from the film Pawn Sacrifice 2014, starring Tobey Maguire and Liev Schreiber. That biopic told the story of the restless Bobby Fischer opposite Boris Spassky at the World Chess Championship 1972, also known as the 'Match of the Century'.
It was a loser at the cash register, but Maresca liked it. A rule with regard to Fischer in his letter is: “Complete master of opening, expert tactician in the middle, sharpness in the finish.”
We have seen this in action in Chelsea's Conference League matches on the way to this final, where Maresca not only made up openings, but also final games during the 90 minutes.
For example, during the break, they led 2-0 in their semi-final first stage in Djurgarden when he introduced Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Moises Caicedo and Trevoh Chalobah for the second half. It was a premeditated plan for that first stage and they won 4-1 to turn the second stage into a trivial affair. It was a switch before they even flown from Stockholm.
The Italian term for checkmate is Scacco Matto. The word Matto also means 'crazy', and Maresca can make herself angry in trying to decipher the strategies of his opponents. Before he was confronted with Djurgarden – a side that was 11th in their Swedish division – he looked at repetitions of six of their competitions.
You could claim that it was exaggerated when Chelsea was the Death Star of the conference competition that destroys opponents for fun, but then Maresca never stops what like. “Chess teaches you to control the first excitement when you see something good and trains to think objectively when you see yourself in danger,” he writes.
Maresca says that the 'surprise factor' is crucial and states how a chess game in 1991 Viktor Korchnoi dropped for 80 minutes to make a movement after something unexpected from his opponent Anatoly Karpov.
“Karpov's Zet was not a switch, but the time benefit he received by surprising his rival was absolutely decisive,” he writes. “Korchnoi had to reorganize and revise his strategy and tactics.”
Translation of that into football, Maresca quotes the last 16 second stage between Juventus and Atletico Madrid in March 2019. Juve lost 2-0 to the first stage, but won 3-0 in the return, Max Allegri who changed his system and turned out to be crucial. While Diego Simeone was looking for what he saw, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick.
“The simple fact of creating doubts means that the opponent must first quickly understand which new situation he is and finds counter -measures,” writes Maresca. 'In the meantime this happens, we can benefit from this. How can we surprise? We can surprise by changing the system or maintaining the same structure by moving different players. '
It is a warning for Pellegrini while preparing for this evening, especially after Maresca had torn his regular approach in Sunday's Premier League final with Nottingham Forest when Chelsea was deep in a defensive form and delivered a 1-0 victory that secured Champions League qualification.
That surprised Nuno Espirito Santo, whose side instead will compete in the conference of the following season. It is worth noting that Maresca writes in his statement that he is an admirer of defensive football and would rather win 1-0 than 3-2 every day, although passing the back is not negotiable for the 45-year-old.
“While we recommend it, we will keep the initiative,” he says. 'Those who defend, have to run to cover the left holes. That is impossible if you are subject to continuous pressure. '
Control in the middle of the field is just as crucial. “To have control over a chess game, it is important to have control over the center of the board,” he writes. “It gives us more options to develop our tactics.”
He adds: 'We cannot fail to control control at the center of the pitch. If we give the opponents the center of the field, we give them a good chance to win. '
Maresca immediately moved Palmer to no. 10 after arriving in Chelsea, while Mauricio Pochettino had him on the right wing. “The idea is to go through the center of the field, so it is always better to place the best there,” he holds full.
We can make the mistake of thinking that Palmer is the king of Chelsea, but actually he is the queen of Maresca, “the player who determines the victory.”
In fact, the Italian sees his king as his goalkeeper and explains that he is limited in space and of vital interest in starting attacks from behind.
“His value as the king lies in the transcendence of his position: the game is lost in the least mistake,” he adds.
No 1 Robert Sanchez has made this period a few too much for Chelsea, but tonight Filip Jorgensen will be in the goal, Maresca feels that it is only fair after his No. 2 appeared in any other round of this European competition.
In the meantime, Caicedo can be seen as his bishop, as Maresca says that such players represent the Guardian Angels, say those who protect ', and Enzo Fernandez as his tower, or' those pieces that help in both phases … defend and attack '.
Maresca notes how Guardiola Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and more in Barcelona had to get central control. Caicedo and Fernandez are £ 221.8 million in talent for Chelsea, but then other pieces are moving.
Maresca used Romeo Lavia and Fernandez in the middle, and Caicedo as vice versa, almost like a knight moving two steps forward and then an inside.
The problem tonight is that Lavia is not available, so another solution is needed, with Reece James expected to start his second game in four days, despite the fact that Maresca tells us earlier that his captain cannot handle no more than a game a week. Perhaps we are the pawns in the media that stories on his behalf.
Nobody has played this season for Chelsea in the Conference League than Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who has more performances this season (14) than the Premier League (13) and Maresca says that you need 'altruistic' players.
“They have to accept to sacrifice themselves to benefit a teammate who is in a better position,” he writes, and it was Dewssbury-Hall's running away from the ball, which let Jadon Sancho unark to open the score in the semi-final with Djurgarden, to take them to the Showdown in Wroklawaw.
Maresca will tell you that he is not the best in chess, despite arranging lessons for himself while writing his thesis.
He would rather be a grandmaster of the beautiful game, and we are now ready to discover if he can justify the choice of Chelsea owners of him as their manager by supplying Blueco their first silverware by surpassing Pellegrini and Betis.
Either way, enough of all that. Does anyone feel like a game of checkers for the final of tonight's Conference League?