Romeo Lavia names the “main quality” which makes Maresca an outstanding coach | OneFootball

Romeo Lavia has had a tough time at Chelsea so far, with injuries all but ruining his two seasons at the club so far.

He’s always stayed positive though, and speaking ahead of the Club World Cup where he will hope to continue moving on from his injuries, he looked back on a season of improvements, noting how the ability to block out the outside noise had been crucial to Chelsea’s development under Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea learn to block out outside noise says Lavia

“We call it tunnel vision, because we just focus on ourselves,” Lavia explained in an interview on the official FIFA site.

“Because if you listen to the noise, what comes out a lot is that we’re a young team, really inexperienced etc, [but] we know we have the quality because we see each other every day. It’s just about having that belief and focusing on ourselves and knowing that we’ll be good.”

Blocking out the negativity about his personal situation must have been vital too, allowing him to keep a smile on his face through the tough moments.

Lavia on what makes Enzo Maresca special

Romeo Lavia trains with Enzo Maresca. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

Manager Enzo Maresca was also a hot topic this season.

The Italian coach has had plenty of detractors in his time at Chelsea (us included), but one thing that has never been in doubt is the respect the players have for him. They always speak about him in glowing terms, and Lavia is no exception:

“So far [working with Maresca] has been a pleasure. He’s an ex-footballer, so I think his main quality is that he understands the players and how they feel sometimes depending on the situation.”

Lavia also noted how excited the players were to just go out and try to win this tournament

“I think we’re just all competitors, so we want to go and win and make history, because it’s not something that happens all the time.”