caughtoffside
·4 December 2024
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·4 December 2024
Former Chelsea striker Loic Remy has heaped praise onto manager Enzo Maresca for his passion on the touchline and how it seems to be positively impacting the team.
The Italian tactician took over as Chelsea manager this summer after the departure of Mauricio Pochettino, and initially looked a bit of a risky appointment due to his lack of experience.
Maresca has previously only managed in the Championship with Leicester City, while he also used to be on Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City.
Still, it’s been a positive start to life at Stamford Bridge for Maresca, and Remy has clearly been impressed by the 44-year-old.
The Frenchman, speaking at the launch of Ladbrokes’ “Gaffer of all Accas”, praised the fact that Maresca has a similar manner to former Blues boss Antonio Conte with his wild celebrations and lively behaviour on the touchline.
Enzo Maresca celebrates a Chelsea win (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Discussing the impact Maresca has had at CFC, Remy said: “I really like Maresca – I don’t know him personally but from the outside, it looks like he’s got a lot of charisma.
“Also, one thing I’ve seen this season is that every single time Chelsea have scored, he’s celebrated on the touchline. You can see he’s a huge part of the whole project, and he’s really involved in things, which is great for those players.
“When you have a coach like that, who is so passionate and into the game, it has a massive impact on you as a player. The players have to give a lot back to him, because he clearly has so much confidence in them – it’s on them to repay that to him now.”
Maresca’s Chelsea are currently level on points with Arsenal, which is significant progress after a difficult few years, but there’s a long way to go yet and it will be interesting to see if he can keep this strong start going.