“The last 48 hours have been the worst since I joined the club because not many people supported us.”
At that moment 19 days ago, Enzo Maresca appeared to be living on borrowed time, and it seemed like the beginning of the end. Relations with the club were strained after Chelsea’s leaders were embarrassed by the Italian’s comments after the win over Everton on December 13. Some officials have been kept in the dark about his true intentions, while others are puzzled as to why he publicly complained to journalists.
From that moment on, Maresca was not the same person, at least when dealing with the press.
The Italians had previously maintained strong relationships with reporters, always careful not to reveal too much, but even that appeared to be deteriorating.
After the initial rant, he seemed unwilling to provide journalists with any more material to report on. However, due to the significance of his post-Everton revelations, doubts persisted.
At the end of November, Chelsea appeared to be in a reassuring position, sitting third in the Premier League and with rumors of a title shot, but club officials were quick to dismiss such talk.
Following the destruction of Barcelona, it will go down as the greatest night in Stamford Bridge history.
They had just one league win in December, but it wasn’t just the result that put more pressure on Maresca. That infamous comment brought him trouble himself.
When Chelsea drew with Bournemouth, there were signs that supporters were starting to lose patience.
Despite Maresca’s attempts to protect the 23-year-old, the home crowd heckled his choice to replace Cole Palmer after 63 minutes, with some chanting: “You don’t know what you’re doing.” His playing time is being closely monitored due to complications with his groin.
But just two weeks after Maresca was praised by supporters traveling in Cardiff following his “worst 48 hours” comments, the head coach has found himself under intense scrutiny.
Co-owner Behdad Egbali, along with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, crossed the Stamford Bridge lawn shortly after the final whistle against Bournemouth for the customary discussion with Maresca.
While this was not unusual and was standard practice at BlueCo, these meetings are part of a set of circumstances that are widely believed to have contributed to Maresca’s growing dissatisfaction.
This was Mr. Maresca’s last report.
The next day, he and his advisers entered into talks with Chelsea about his future at the club, but this position was considered unsustainable following recent developments.
Chelsea’s search for their next head coach has begun, with Liam Rosenior emerging as an early candidate given his links with BlueCo-owned Strasbourg.
