Sarri on his astonishing attention to detail
Maurizio Sarri has opened up on his astonishing attention to detail as he bids to make Chelsea a force in English football again.
The Italian has revealed he spent around 13 hours a day over the international break watching videos of opponents in a bid to gain an advantage.
Chelsea have won all four games under Sarri so far but he wants more from his side and has painstakingly looked for weaknesses in the opposition, with Saturday’s opponents Cardiff City among those targeted.
“We have to play seven matches in 23 days, so I had to work,” he said. “I have seen a lot of matches, of
Cardiff and PAOK, West Ham and Liverpool, so I had to work.” “Sometimes I’m working at the training ground, sometimes at my home.
“They were long days. But, for me, it's a pleasure. I am not able to think about this as a job, like work. It's 12 or 13 hours, but for me it's not working.”
Sarri already feels like he has settled in this country after three months into the job and he has now moved out of a hotel into his own house in Surrey.
“For the moment, I'm really very happy to stay here,” he said. “I have my dog here with a very big garden, so the dog is very happy. I'm really very happy. I feel like at home. I feel in my home.
“I have a house five miles from here, no more. It’s in Surrey, similar to my name.”
Sarri is not prepared to allow any dip in standards, revealing that while Napoli manager his side’s form used to fall after the international break.
“I’m not really relaxed as Cardiff is a very difficult game, a very difficult match,” he said. “I remember in my first season in Naples, the average points per match during the season was 2.28, I think. But the average after the international break was only 1.31 or 1.32.
“So I know that the matches after the break are very, very difficult. Fortunately in the last season, the average was the same: 2.4 in the season, 2.45 after the break. Only because after the first season the players understood the difficulty of this kind of match.
“I'm trying to stress this number to my players. Just telling them this number. My experience in this situation.”
Sarri is certainly a different character to that of his opposite number in the dugout on Saturday, Neil Warnock. The Cardiff manager is known for his passionate style which includes several YouTube clips of his infamous half-time rants.
“I’d only behave like that if it was necessary to gain points,” Sarri said. “I don’t think so.
“I’ve not seen the clips. I want only to see the team. I wanted only to study the team, the opponents and the match. Not other things.”
Meanwhile Sarri has not assessed how proposed new Fifa regulations limiting a club to eight loan departures a season will impact Chelsea.
The West Londoners currently have 40 players out on loan, but Sarri said: “I don't know anything about the new rules of Fifa.”
“There is something similar in Italy. For example, I think Juventus have about 45 players (out on loan). I don't know if the major part of the loans are in the same country, but I think not. If you have young players on loan in other countries, I think it's normal.
“Maybe it's right, but I don't know really. I have never thought about this problem. I don't know.”