Enzo Maresca and Chelsea players stepped up, it's now time for those above to do same
Maresca and his players have done their jobs, now the Sporting Directors need to oversee a serious window
It felt far more important than expected. That was the overriding feeling celebrating amongst those in Wroclaw late into a Polish summer night.
I had never been on a proper European away before. I was at home for both Champions League wins with my Dad, lucky to be in the ends for the 07 and 09 FA Cup wins at Wembley, along with lifting of the Premier League title in 05, 15 and 17. The closest I got was a pilsner fueled trip for a pre-season friendly against Gladbach in 2019.
Even through lack of sleep and some sore heads for many of us, the trip was worth it and will go down as one of my favorite football experiences. You can throw out the caveats of the competition, opposition and what the club has won with higher acclaim. Football is ruled by emotion more than logic.
I spoke with an older Chelsea fan who became emotional reflecting on the fact this was the first European final he had been able to experience with his son. For myself, alongside my brother and future brother-in-law to be added personal worth. We spend so much time talking about the macro in football. The players, the managers, the transfers, the money, the tactics. And whilst all of that is relevant and insightful, the micro hits home more poignantly on nights like this.
Whilst this trophy was expected to be won, needed to be won and will not reach the same stature as others, to those who love Chelsea it did mean something. Maybe it was just the joy of seeing your team win a trophy. Maybe it was the incredible flip from anxiety and frustration into a burst of celebration from the moment Enzo Fernandez headed Cole Palmer’s cross in.
It was also hopefully the end to a period of frustration and concern, tracking all the way back to February of 2022. That was the last time Chelsea lifted silverware. All the way back then, Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea were crowned World Champions, only eight months after lifting the Champions League.
Roman Abramovich was on the pitch surrounded by confetti, pictured holding a trophy that on that day, completed the set for the club. It was mere weeks later when the club would change forever.
In Wroclaw, a young and heavily questioned Chelsea won it all again. But unlike three years ago, the hope will be implosion is not around the corner.
Enzo Maresca and his players have undeniably achieved the expectation set out for them last summer.
Qualifying for the Champions League and winning the third-tier European prize was a fair expectation given the investment on the squad. In the end, nothing Chelsea did blew our minds or propelled the club to heights unexpected. However, that does not mean we avoid credit for those involved.
Stakes became a key word across this season. What were they? Did they matter to the coach and players as to the fans? And could they rise to them when under pressure?
There was severe pressure placed on the shoulders of a rookie coach and his group. Going away to Nottingham Forest on the final day needing to win to ensure the season’s success should not be lost in the midst of reflecting on the campagin. Such pressure had seemed to overwhelm the same group earlier on in the same season, even in the opening exchanges at St. James Park a fortnight before the final test.
Going 1-0 down early into a final and playing below par is usually a death sentence for most teams. Even with Chelsea’s quality, if this season has proved anything, the underdogs can upset the odds in major finals. The changes made off the bench and the way in which Chelsea dazzled and dominated their way to victory made it a uniquely stress-free end to an otherwise stressful season.
Maresca has been doubted, by me and many of you. That is not a crime. The weird assertion that doubting, critiquing or questioning things during the course of a season is some heresy is more social media nonsense. 99.999999% of football fans are critics their own clubs, it is part of the job.
The bad feeling after consecutive losses at Brighton, the failure to beat Ipswich in either game, the turgid displays, the baffling quotes in press conferences and confusing player choices. We can either pretend they did not happen, or we can credit Maresca that when the chips were down, he found a way to get over the line.
As a coach, memories are what connect you to supporters. People in hindsight will forget the bad things, if you delivered them very happy moments supporting the club. Maresca has overseen one of those now, but obviously, the ambition is for more at a higher level.
The squad has also responded strongly in it own way. The camaraderie felt after both the Forest and Betis victories showcased a group who deeply cared about winning a trophy together for the first time. Reece James being the captain symbolized that response to adversity best. Like the club as a whole, coming through a torrid period of setbacks after the height of 2021 when he became a Champions League winner.
The genius of Cole Palmer in the second half of a European final felt reminiscent of Eden Hazard’s finale in Baku. The reflection of a true genius at work who altered the reality of a game that was slipping away. His performance added to the great lineage of Osgood, Zola, Drogba and more in Chelsea’s grand European final history.
Enzo Fernandez growing in stature this season has been impossible to ignore, as has the incredible displays of his midfield peer Moises Caicedo.
The core of academy players in James, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George maintains a homegrown influence that should still remain beyond the summer too.
We could go on with individual stories and moments of positivity that will be remembered. However, attention now turns to those above Maresca or his players.
Put simply, this summer has to go right for Chelsea at the hands of the maligned sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and to some, the end to the season could be used as an endorsement of everything they have done. But that fails to recognize the fine margins that could have swung in another way, the struggles that actually prevented Chelsea finishing even higher than 4th in a poorer Premier League.
Giving a rookie coach a squad without a significant investment in a better centre forward, some maturity, a top goalkeeper or significant midfield depth were risks that were taken. And even if the story of 2024/25 got a happy ending, they cannot be taken again.
With Champions League football on the horizon, a trip to America for an expanded FIFA Club World Cup and, the short turnaround to another Premier League slog demands investment and serious depth to compete.
Another summer of PSR wrangling, B and C type signings or opportunistic grabs on players who do not last more than five months have to disappear.
Chelsea need decisive and serious actions if they aim to not only cement a top five/four spot, but start to close a 15-point on Champions Liverpool. Which should be the North Star we are all aiming towards.
The expectation of winning the title next season is probably too far given how long ago the club even competed for one other the course of 38-games. But the upcoming window will indicate whether the return to Europe’s top table can halt to record of some pretty abysmal windows.
Maresca as a coach adapted well in the closing weeks of the season. His desire for control came into positive effect when holding onto slim leads as points were desperately cherished. He conjured defensive and goalkeeper performances that were doubted heading into the closing run.
Now he, like any coach, requires better tools to improve. There will be no coaching change, and there should not be after achieving the goals set out last summer.
The imminent arrival of Liam Delap will hopefully prove to be a shrewd start. As I explained in April, for £30m in the current market, it seems like a pretty low-risk deal. It directly addresses Chelsea’s depth options at centre forward and will hopefully only be one of two striker additions.
Whatever you think of Delap, the signing feels more grounded in football logic with Enzo Maresca reportedly central to craving new striker options.
That is a promising start, with of course, a long summer ahead.