Maurizio Sarri confessed he has taken one day off at Chelsea – “and I found a lot of people from Naples who want to talk football.”
The Coach was eventually hired after pre-season had already begun, due to a contract dispute with Napoli and Antonio Conte’s position at Stamford Bridge.
Once there, the chain-smoking Italian has been making up for lost time.
Maurizio Sarri confessed he has taken one day off at Chelsea – “and I found a lot of people from Naples who want to talk football.”
The Coach was eventually hired after pre-season had already begun, due to a contract dispute with Napoli and Antonio Conte’s position at Stamford Bridge.
Once there, the chain-smoking Italian has been making up for lost time.
“I am not able to switch off. I have spent only one day in London in 40 days here, because for the moment it’s been difficult. We had to prepare the season without players, so the first part of the season was difficult for me,” he said in a Press conference.
“But I’m not able to switch off. Never. I am always thinking about my team and about the match, or the next match. It’s my way to work in football.
“On the day I did do something, it was after the match with Arsenal. I remained in London. I only had a long walk in the centre — and I found a lot of people from Naples who want to talk football.”
This gels with what Napoli captain Marek Hamsik said of Sarri in an interview with the Corriere dello Sport on Saturday.
“Sarri is a man who belongs on the field, he lived the game 24/7. He was obsessed with football and never let even the slightest detail get by him.”
It seems to be working, because Chelsea have won their opening two games against Huddersfield and Arsenal, albeit by conceding quite a few goals.
“If you are used to defending by looking at the man and I ask you to defend by looking only at the ball, it’s not easy. If you are 18, it’s maybe easier. If you are 28 and, for 10 years, you’ve played the other way, it’s not so easy. You have to change completely.
“But I think, in this case, with this team, there are very intelligent players,” noted Sarri.
“It’s better doing it that way. If you arrive to think in this way, then it’s very easy. It depends only on you. You are not depending on the opponent. If you defend by looking only at the ball, you can stay very high up the pitch. In the other way, you defend on the movements of the opponent.
“I don’t know [about compromise]. Maybe I would have to do that, but I am better when I play my way of football. I don’t know if I’m a very good Coach if I teach another way of football.
“But I think the owner knows it. They called me 40 days ago – I think it’s because they wanted my football here. It’s not easy, but I have to try.
“It’s important I like it, first of all. I want to enjoy, I want to have fun, press the ball. If I enjoy the game, maybe the supporters enjoy the game. And, if the team enjoy the game, they have a lot of opportunities to win.”