Enzo Maresca and Brendan Rodgers have had their stories intertwined more than one might have expected in recent months.
The new Chelsea boss took over the Leicester team that Rodgers left behind a year ago, and now the two coaches face off as managers of their new teams – Celtic and Chelsea – in a friendly tonight.
Rodgers is always a gentleman, and speaking in the media conference before the game today, he was very positive about Maresca’s impact at Leicester and the potential for him to do even better at Chelsea.
“Enzo has come in having done very, very well at Leicester, getting them back to the Premier League, but Chelsea is a totally different challenge. The expectation around Chelsea, to be one of the most successful clubs in the world, that will still be there within the support base,” Rodgers mused.
“They have got some fantastic players and I am sure Enzo and his staff will do a really, really good job there… Enzo will be very clear on how he wants to work. We have seen that against Wrexham, and I have seen his work at Leicester.”
An interesting friendly in prospect
It should be an interesting friendly tonight – of course Chelsea have the better players and a vastly bigger budget, but they’re also a young group with a new manager.
Rodgers has a much more settled group at Celtic, and really improved them through the course of last season after returning north of the border.
They will be no pushovers – and frankly, if we can’t beat Wrexham we’re not too hopeful against a pretty well gelled Celtic team.
Their coach’s words, while full of praise, also have plenty of warnings for Maresca. Rodgers must know well from his time at Liverpool how intense it can be managing at the very top.
