New Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca likes to play a high defensive line, and it has been explained and also how he coaches it in training, below.
A lot has been said about Maresca bringing in a new style of play to Chelsea this season – possession based football just like what Pep Guardiola has bought to Manchester City so successfully.
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Maresca has learned his trade under Pep at City, and was also the successful manager of their U21s side there.
He’s inexperienced for sure, and hiring him is a massive risk for Chelsea. But Maresca knows and backs his way of setting up and he will be looking to implement that at Chelsea as soon as possible.
High defensive line
Chelsea of recent seasons have not necessarily been playing a high defensive line, but they will be now under Maresca. That is one of the key elements to his style of play.
Former Ascoli midfielder Gianluca Carpani worked under Maresca in Serie B and has shared the secrets behind the Italian’s short-lived spell at the helm with Ascoli.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Mirror, Carpani said: “Enzo was a former player so he was well respected and everyone listened to him because he had a very good career.
“He really liked being in groups, so always organised lunches and dinners with both his fellow staff and players.
“He had a style that I really liked, he certainly needed more time to implement this idea and to bring results. Unfortunately the results didn’t arrive and it didn’t last too long.
“He worked a lot on the positional changes of all players, especially the full-backs and attacking wingers in a 4-3-3 system.
“He also worked with the defensive line in a particular way, they always had to stop at the edge of the penalty area and were not allowed to enter the box during training so the team stayed high.
“What stood out was that he always gave you solutions that you could bring onto the pitch and you always knew exactly what to do.
“On a personal level, I learned a lot, especially some important movements he taught me as a midfielder which I still carry with me today.
“He tried many new things which always made me think he was a great coach, I always believed in Enzo because he was full of so many beautiful ideas. He also demonstrated that with Leicester where he achieved great results – I wish him the best.”
