Why Chelsea believe Enzo Maresca can be their new Special One: Italian plays keeper as fourth defender, sets up like Pep Guardiola and compiles files on entire club staff

It should have been a simple unveiling in Stamford Bridge’s West Stand suite. Get in. Meet the Premier League’s newest manager. Out.

Then we met Jose Mourinho. That was on June 2, 2004, the day of his ‘special’ statement and of which this Sunday is the twentieth anniversary.

He didn’t want a headline like “Arsene Who?” which appeared in the London Evening Standard upon Wenger’s arrival at Arsenal. He wanted to explain why we should be excited, grateful even, that he chose England as his next destination for domination.

If Nicolaus Copernicus had still been here to theorize about where we might find the center of the universe, he might have wanted to investigate that press conference. But Mourinho continued to fool the skeptics who mocked his claims, living up to the hype he created for around a hundred members of the media that Wednesday morning.

He came, he saw, he conquered. It was conveniently ignored that he actually said he was ‘a special one’ and not ‘the special one’, a sponsor who supposedly embroidered that misquoted name into his Chelsea jacket after winning the Premier League in his very first season.

Maresca has never played at the highest level, but showed the possession-based football Chelsea crave at Leicester

This Sunday marks the anniversary of Jose Mourinho’s famous revelation in which he declared himself ‘the special one’

It’s unlikely we’ll hear Enzo Maresca speak so boldly at his upcoming unveiling, but even a fraction of the confidence Mourinho had all those years ago could reassure Chelsea supporters who see this appointment as a risk.

It’s up to the 44-year-old Italian, dubbed ‘Diet Pep’, to show he’s not a bottle-up guy – to win over fans who don’t believe this former Pep Guardiola assistant can make their club jealous on the English. and European football again.

However inexperienced he is and having never performed at the highest level after Leicester City in the Championship and Parma in Serie B, Maresca is entitled to that advantage. The best way to discourage the doubters is of course to win. Another way is to own the room once the cameras are rolling, and it helps that Maresca is prone to the occasional zinger in front of the press.

As Leicester manager he once said of Leeds United: ‘It’s a huge, huge, huge game for them. It’s normal for us.’ These are words that would not sound unusual coming from Mourinho and could endear him to the cynics if Maresca spoke with such authority at Chelsea.

Leicester correspondents will tell you that Maresca is most likely to show his bullish side when challenged on his tactics. Those close to Chelsea’s new head coach say he sees his football as the best way – the only way – to win.

It involves a 4-3-3 formation – similar to Guardiola’s – with the full back shifting into midfield. In turn, the goalkeeper moves up the field to become the fourth defender. Having a shot-stopper who is comfortable on the ball is non-negotiable, which is why statistics show that Leicester’s Mads Hermansen completed more passes last season than any goalkeeper in the history of the Championship.

Supporters at Stamford Bridge won’t get neck pain from watching long ball football. There will be no showings of Peter Kay shouting ‘ave it’ from a John Smith advert. Only overload, lots of ball possession, wingers staying next to each other and, Chelsea hopes, complete control.

One of the accusations against Maresca was that he ‘almost blew a 17-point lead’ over Leicester last season, as if the gap happened by magic. He got them into pole position and then over the line, using a possession-based style of play that Chelsea wanted for themselves, paying a compensation package worth around £10 million to secure.

The 44-year-old was dubbed ‘Diet Pep’ after honing his skills as assistant to Pep Guardiola (centre)

Even a fraction of Mourinho’s confidence could help Maresca reassure Chelsea supporters

It could fly to Chelsea. It could flop. However it turns out, Maresca does not deserve to be found guilty of alleged shortcomings in the court of social media before testing those tactics in the Premier League. He may not have won the Champions League, the UEFA Cup or the Portuguese Primeira Liga as Mourinho won with Porto in 2004. But in 2024, Maresca will be Chelsea’s chosen one, selected for his tactical qualities that led Leicester to the championship title last season.

Chelsea have watched Arsenal become title contenders under Mikel Arteta, another Guardiola stalwart who had even less experience as a head coach than Maresca when he was appointed. They privately promise to exercise patience after giving him a five-year contract with the option of a sixth. Time will tell whether that contract will be honored if success does not follow immediately.

Chelsea’s ownership group makes no secret of their objectives. They want to consistently compete for the Premier League. They want to participate in the Champions League.

They want to conquer the Conference League, with club sources saying they optimistically view Europe’s third-tier competition as an opportunity to ‘win it all for a second time’, having previously lifted all the other trophies. They want to go to the Club World Cup next summer as a team to be feared.

Maresca will not be given carte blanche at Chelsea, but has instead signed on as a key part of a club-wide strategy. Co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart were keen to find a dynamic head coach who would be happy to work with them, letting Maresca hand-pick an elite ensemble of eight backroom staff with two more appointments to follow, as revealed by Mail Sport previously Official announcement of Monday.

Maresca may not have won the European Cup, but he was selected for his tactical talent in guiding Leicester to the Premier League as champions

Chelsea could have gone back to Mourinho or Thomas Tuchel, but they were convinced by Maresca’s enthusiasm and expertise

Chelsea could have gone in a different direction after their amicable split with Mauricio Pochettino. They could have crawled back to Mourinho or Thomas Tuchel or Antonio Conte, or turned to Roberto De Zerbi or Thomas Frank, both proven in the Premier League.

Ultimately, they were won over by the enthusiasm and expertise of Maresca, the tactician who will inevitably face skepticism when he steps foot in Stamford Bridge for the first time in August. Chelsea hopes he shows why they think he is so special.