Why Sarri and Chelsea are such an odd couple
Unconventional coach viewed with suspicion by many at the fashionable club, writes Matt Law
Industrial. That was how Maurizio Sarri was described inside Chelsea during the early days of the relationship between football’s odd couple. Gone was Antonio Conte, his tailored suits and hair, and his perfectly polished shoes. And in was a very different Italian, who chews on cigarette butts, looks like he got dressed in the club shop and is overwhelmed by superstition.
Sarri has not been seen in a suit since his unveiling as head coach. His down-to-earth approach struck a chord with the Naples port workers as he landed blows on Juventus, AC Milan and Inter.
But it has not gone down so well on the King’s Road, where personalities are cherished and moneyed folk back winners over philosophers. Sarri goes into Wednesday night’s Europa League final still looking for his first trophy.
Conte was famed for his work ethic but was also acutely aware of how he came across, both to the Chelsea fans and the outside world. His wild celebrations and fist pumps in front of travelling supporters captured hearts. One of Sarri’s many superstitions dictates he cannot step on the playing turf, which stopped him joining the end-of-season lap of appreciation or saluting the away end after the final game at Leicester.
There was bickering in the background, but Chelsea were happy to feed the affection from the terraces towards Conte by marking their Premier League title triumph with the release of his personalised emoji.
By the time he was sacked in July last year, having lifted the FA Cup, Conte’s relationship with the board had deteriorated to the point where the announcement was made in just 61 words, but the supporters remained grateful.
Should the Blues win the Europa League at the end of a season in which they have also qualified for
the Champions League by finishing third and lost a Carabao Cup final to Manchester City, there will still be debate over whether it was because of Sarri or in spite of him.
Those who sang ‘F--- Sarri-ball’ and chanted for him to be sacked at Cardiff City at the end of March may have parked their dissatisfaction, but it has not been eradicated by finishing above Tottenham Hotspur and booking a final against Arsenal. It was perhaps instructive that Sarri was barely seen and not heard at all on the post-season trip to Boston, arranged by owner Roman Abramovich, having criticised the timing of the charity friendly.
Social climbers would not have allowed a stomach bug to prevent them attending an evening at the house of Robert Kraft, friend of Abramovich and owner of New England Revolution. But Sarri stayed in his sick bed and has since revealed that he and Abramovich spoke for just “one minute” in Boston, to discuss Ruben LoftusCheek’s injury.
For all of Sarri’s dressing-room disciples, who include David Luiz and Jorginho, there are also the non-believers who have questioned his stubborn approach, track record and superstitions.
Captain Gary Cahill, who has won every club honour with Chelsea, was frozen out, to the surprise of many. Victor Moses, a popular member of the squad, pivotal in the Premier League title and FA Cup successes, was often left out of small-sided training games before joining Fenerbahce on loan.
Marcos Alonso, a Premier League and FA
Cup winner, has been asked to operate in a back four and struggled with the move from the left-wing back role that suited him so well. “It’s not easy, of course not,” said Alonso. “Managers are different, he wanted to change the team, not just me.”
Conte could always point to a top-level playing career for Juventus and Italy. Sarri was an amateur footballer with a career in banking, before moving into coaching, with Chelsea representing his biggest challenge to date. Despite his relative success with Napoli, there is a feeling that the 60-year-old has been learning on the job with players who have all won more than him.
“The gaffer is still learning, he was not a football player, so he is learning a lot this year,” said Alonso. “He is different.”
The quirks and idiosyncrasies that were endearing have worn thin over an at-times chaotic season. Jorginho revealed that Sarri “won’t touch the match ball ever. Even if we’re losing, the ball goes out, and we need to get the ball back as fast as possible, he won’t go near it”.
And yet Sarri, who barely had a pre-season in which to prepare, has performed better than Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino did in their first Premier League seasons and has promised improvement if he is given a second campaign.
Juventus and Roma have shown interest in him, and the feeling is either could take him back to Italy if they agree to pay Chelsea around £5 million in compensation.
Jorginho was scapegoated by some for following Sarri from Napoli to Stamford Bridge, but there has been enough in the final weeks to suggest that the midfielder will be better next term.
Sarri’s greater use of nowinjured Loftus-cheek and Callum Hudson-odoi over the run-in suggested he might take a serious look at Reece James, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham. But it is hard to know how a man who cares so little for what people think of him will start to build a bond with those who want to see some personality with the industry. A first trophy would offer encouragement that the philosopher can also be a winner.