Sarri won’t call wantaway stars
MAURIZIO SARRI will wait until he can look into the eyes of his wantaway Chelsea stars before trying to persuade them to stay. Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois are being chased by Real Madrid and have each dropped hints they may be ready to move this summer, while Gary Cahill is also unsettled after losing his place at the end of last season. The trio will rejoin the squad in two and a half weeks following their World Cup duties and, with the transfer window shutting on August 9, there will be little time for replacements if they go.
But Sarri, having been introduced as Chelsea’s new manager yesterday, said: “I don’t think I will be calling them. I would like to keep them. But a telephone call without looking them in the eyes would not give them any certainty. I want to meet and understand what the best thing is for everyone.”
Chelsea are currently in talks with Juventus over centre-back Daniele Rugani. CSKA Moscow midfielder Aleksandr Golovin is another target, as is AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli.
IN A dark suit and tie he strolled into the room, tanned and confident, every inch the sober former banker about to sell you a product.
Bankers and currency traders, which is what Maurizio Sarri was before he took up football coaching full-time in 1999, do not normally promise fun. They promise security, prosperity, maybe even profit.
But fun is exactly what the 59-year-old is pledging he and his team will enjoy. Plenty of it. Where predecessor Antonio Conte talked about work, work, work, Sarri yesterday said his style is fun, fun, fun.
He is even, the former Napoli manager said, “bored” with the transfer market, despite having just spent £50million on Italy midfielder Jorginho this week, and with several key players, such as Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, hinting they might want to leave.
And as every Chelsea boss has said when he walked into the job, Sarri insisted, as the 11th permanent manager appointed under owner Roman Abramovich, he is unconcerned with the club’s recent history.
He said: “I don’t know what has happened in the past. I am not interested. My goal is to have fun as long as I am here, and be competitive in all competitions until the end. “In life the biggest gift you
can receive is to have fun while you do your job. Few people do that. But I had fun last year at Napoli. Can you have fun while winning trophies? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It is better not to whinge but to enjoy.
“I hope our football can be entertaining. But I’m convinced if a team has fun, the fans have fun too. The material objective is to reach a high level. But we start by having fun. If I was someone who always worried, I would do another job. Our jobs mean risks. I am not afraid.”
In three years at Napoli Sarri steered the Italian club to two second-place finishes and one third, playing a praised style – energetic, with quick passing and high pressing. But one charge against the Neapolitan is he has never won a major honour.
Sarri ran a string of lowerlevel teams around Tuscany before finally reaching Serie A four years ago when he took Empoli to promotion.
Conte fell out with Chelsea over transfers. From his utterances yesterday, it seems that Sarri wants little to do with that side of things, though he has given the club a list of players he wants.
He said: “I am one of the few managers bored by the transfer market. I don’t want to talk about it, I am not interested. Our task as managers is about growing the players we have.
“How long will it take for my style of football to take hold? A few years ago I needed a long time. I hope I have improved and that this has got shorter.
“While it is true I haven’t won anything, I have been in Serie A four years and, apart from Juventus, nobody won anything. For three years in a row we had records with points – 81 points, 82 and 91.”
Another hanging cloud over Sarri is charges of homophobia and sexism from his time at Napoli. First came a clash with former Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini, who alleged Sarri called him a “f **** t”, then an incident with a female reporter in which he said: “You’re a woman, you’re nice, so I won’t tell you to f*** off.” But Sarri insisted: “People make mistakes. One of these was when I was angry, the other misconstrued. Those who know me well cannot define me in this way. “I am not homophobic or sexist or racist. I am an extremely open person. I hope to show this.”
I hope our football can entertain