Addressing the media for his first press conference since being confirmed as Chelsea’s latest head coach, Enzo Maresca spoke about his tactical identity, the importance of playing friendlies across the world and the role he envisages Christopher Nkunku playing throughout 2024/25.
Chelsea recently touched down in California and are set to embark on their preseason tour of the United States, with their first test coming against Wrexham at 03:00 BST on Thursday morning.
The significance of playing in the USA isn’t lost on Maresca, who insisted that “it is always important to have a connection with the fans – the fans in the US, the fans in England [and] the fans anywhere.”
“We’ve not had the chance to visit the city yet,” he admitted, “because we arrived very late and we had a session this afternoon, but it’s always nice to share time with our fans abroad.”
Once Chelsea have faced Wrexham at the Levi’s Stadium, attention will turn to the remainder of their bustling preseason campaign which will also see them face Celtic, Manchester City and Real Madrid on American soil before hosting Internazionale at Stamford Bridge.
Embed from Getty ImagesThose matches will provide the perfect opportunity for Maresca to instil his tactical identity upon his players, and he insists that his target for the season is “to try to win trophies, or at least compete.”
“I’m here for the same targets [as the club]. When you join a club like Chelsea, one of the biggest and best clubs in the world, you have to try to win trophies or at least compete,” he explained.
“So our target will be to try to compete and achieve something now. When that happens? I don’t know, but hopefully it will be as soon as possible.”
As to how he views his mentality, Maresca told reporters: “My philosophy is quite clear. We try to dominate the game, we try to keep the ball as much as we can. It is difficult and it is not easy but overall the idea is to be aggressive on the ball and off the ball.”
Christopher Nkunku could be a crucial player for the SW6-based side throughout the upcoming season, and Maresca revealed that the Frenchman “is one of the players who in these two weeks has done very, very well.”
“He is already taking [on board] the way we want to play, which is really important,” he added.
“What we are going to try to do is have players who can play in different positions. That is the way I see the forwards and it is the way I like to work every day, to try to improve players and help them play not only one position but in different positions.”
“It is just a matter of needing to convince them and then they can adapt. If they are good players, they can play in different positions.”
