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Tag: Maurizio Sarri

  • Abramovich bans new Chelsea coach Sarri from his usual half-time ritual

    Maurizio Sarri has been ordered to change his habits by Roman Abramovich after signing on to become the new Chelsea boss.

    The 59-year-old Italian – who replaces Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge – has been ordered to wear a suit on matchdays rather than his usual tracksuit approach, and has also been told to cut out his cheeky half-time cigarettes.

    The sight of Sarri puffing away on the touchline became a regular one during his time at former club Napoli, before he was banned from doing so and given a special designated area in the home dressing room.

    German club RB Leipzig even built him his own smoking area for a Europa League tie last season .

    That will all have to change now though according to The Sun , who claim that Abramovich has ordered Sarri to bring “a British attitude” to the job.

    He has also been told to wear a suit to press conferences, although given that Conte rarely did that then it remains to be seen whether or not that happens.

    Sarri began his Chelsea reign this week by apologising for racist and homophobic remarks he made while Napoli boss .

    Referring to an incident in which he insulted former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini in 2016, calling him a f****t, Sarri said: “I am an extremely open person, I do not have these kind of problems, I hope I will show this when I am working here and living here.

    “These mistakes were made, yes, but when someone makes a mistake they must apologise and accept some allegations can be made by the press.

    “More than apologies, I hope you will have the chance to get to know better and forget about this very quickly.”

  • I’ll bring something new to Premier League – Jorginho

    New Chelsea midfielder Jorginho believes he can offer something never seen before in the Premier League under the guidance of Maurizio Sarri.

    Blues manager Sarri and his squad, along with new assistant first-team coach Gianfranco Zola, landed in Australia on Thursday ahead of Chelsea’s pre-season match against Perth Glory.

    The signing of midfielder Jorginho on a five-year contract from Napoli, for an initial fee of around £50m, sees the Brazil-born Italian swiftly reunite with Sarri.

    Jorginho is confident both he and Sarri can make an impact in their first campaigns in English football.

    “Today everyone watches the Premier League so I have watched plenty of it in my time. It is a fantastic league, the best in the world I think,” Jorginho said on the Chelsea website.

    “Perhaps my style of play is not something that is seen in England, I really hope that it is a good fit for the game over here and I will certainly be doing everything I can to make sure it works out.

    “I like playing just outside of my own penalty box, the player who receives the ball and organises the game.”

    Jorginho added: “Since I was little I was someone who always enjoyed challenges and for me this is just a huge challenge, professionally and personally.

    During a press conference at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, Sarri spoke of his desire to tackle a “difficult challenge, but a fascinating one”.

    Jorginho has no doubts about what qualities the former Napoli boss can bring to the club.

    “He is someone who does wonderful work, he is right on top of everything that is going on on the pitch,” said the Italy midfielder, who was also on Manchester City’s radar.

    “When the weekend comes around and you have a game, you start that game knowing how every situation is going to pan out on the field offensively and defensively, and that is something that really helps you in your work.

    “He is a very straightforward person, he is easy to communicate with, he is very approachable and that is something that also helps the players.”

    Sky Sports

  • I am bored by the transfer market – Sarri

    I am bored by the transfer market – Sarri

    New Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri said he was one of the few managers who was “bored” by the transfer market and that his aim was to inject “fun” into his squad.

    “I feel more a pitch manager than a general manager,” he added.

    “I think that I am one of the few managers who is bored by the transfer market. I don’t want to talk about the transfer market and I am not interested in it.”

    Sarri conducted most of his news conference in Italian although he is able to speak English.

    He said: “I have to say sorry to everybody because my English is not so good. I don’t want to say anything wrong. I hope I will be able to do it [speak English] in a few weeks.”

    Sarri added: “I need to have fun in order to do well. My goal is to have fun while I am here.

    “The club have asked me to build a season where we have to be competitive in all competitions and in order to do that we must get to March and April in all competitions.”

    Sarri replaces Antonio Conte, who was sacked by Chelsea despite winning the Premier League in 2016-17 and the FA Cup in 2017-18.

    Chelsea’s new boss has yet to win a major trophy in his managerial career but said he was “not afraid” of the challenge ahead.

    “If I was someone who always worried I probably would do another job,” he said.

    “Our job means risks but there is also a lot of satisfaction. I am not afraid.”

    Last season, Chelsea finished 30 points behind champions Manchester City, managed by Sarri’s friend Pep Guardiola.

    “He is a class act, a champion and a genius,” Sarri added.

    Asked what he wanted to be called after Jose Mourinho announced himself as ‘The Special One’ upon arriving at Chelsea in 2004, Sarri added: “Just call me Maurizio.”

  • I want to improve Hazard, says new Chelsea coach Sarri

    I want to improve Hazard, says new Chelsea coach Sarri

    New Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri says he wants to keep Eden Hazard at the club and “improve” the Belgium forward.

    Hazard, who has been linked with Real Madrid, said last weekend “it might be time to discover something different” after six years at Stamford Bridge.

    Sarri, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, described Hazard as “one of the top two or three European players”.

    The former Napoli boss said: “Hazard is a very high-level player. I hope that I will manage to improve him.”

    Roberto Martinez, the Belgium manager, told Spanish radio recently that Hazard should consider leaving Chelsea to further his career.

    The forward, for his part, responded to the Real Madrid reports by telling journalists last Saturday: “You know my preferred destination.

    “I can decide if I want to stay or go but Chelsea will make the final decision – if they want to let me go.”

    Sarri said he wanted to meet Hazard, who is away on holiday after representing Belgium at the World Cup.

    “I would like to have fun during the week with him. This would mean very good results and mean we would have been very competitive during the season,” added the 59-year-old Italian.

    Asked if he planned to phone Hazard – or any other player linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge – Sarri added: “A telephone call without looking them in the eye would not give me any certainly.

    “I’d like to meet them face to face. I would also like a player to come on the [training] pitch four or five days to have a clear idea.”

  • With one or two adjustments, Chelsea can try to play my football – Sarri

    With one or two adjustments, Chelsea can try to play my football – Sarri

    The newly appointed Chelsea coach, Maurizio Sarri said he needs to make “one or two adjustments” before Chelsea will be ready to play his football as he looked forward to going head to head with the most important coaches in Europe.

    Sarri, says he would ‘give all his possessions to win something’ with Chelsea after replacing Antonio Conte as their manager.

    The Italian is the ninth man to be appointed the Blues’ full-time boss since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

    His first game in charge is next week’s pre-season friendly with Perth Glory.

    “With one or two adjustments we can try to play my football,” Sarri told the club’s official website.

    “I hope that fans can enjoy the team.

    “Chelsea is one of the most important clubs in the most important championships in Europe. The problem is that in England there are another five, six very good teams.

    Conte was sacked just 55 days after guiding Chelsea to FA Cup glory at Wembley and a year after winning the Premier League.

    But Sarri hopes to compete with some of football’s most respected managers when he goes up against Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino.

    “In the Premier League there are all the most important coaches in Europe, maybe in the world,” said Sarri.

    “For me it will be very exciting to play against Guardiola, Pochettino, Mourinho, Klopp and the others.

    “I am here for football. I am here for Chelsea. I want to play at Stamford Bridge. For me it’s a dream. London is a wonderful city, but I’m here for Chelsea.”

    Chelsea finished fifth in the league last season and missed out on qualification for the Champions League – something Sarri will be expected to achieve in his first season in charge.

  • Sarri closer to becoming Chelsea boss as Blues eye Jorginho

    Sarri closer to becoming Chelsea boss as Blues eye Jorginho

    Maurizio Sarri is in final negotiations with former club Napoli as he edges closer to taking charge at Chelsea, says the Serie A club’s president.

    Chelsea have also joined Manchester City in the race to sign Napoli’s £50m-rated midfielder Jorginho.

    Antonio Conte took charge of Chelsea’s pre-season training at the weekend, despite speculation over his future.

    Sarri has held talks with Chelsea, but remains contracted to Napoli, who have replaced him with Carlo Ancelotti.

    “We are in the finishing line,” said Aurelio de Laurentiis. “Now it depends on [Sarri] and Chelsea.

    “The Sarri affair is nearly at its conclusion, it all depends on him. My lawyers have submitted papers to his lawyers.”

    Italian Sarri, 59, joined Napoli in 2015 and led them to second behind champions Juventus last season.

    Conte, 48, has a clause in his contract that guarantees him a pay-off, thought to be £9m, for the final year of his deal.

    This would be reduced if the former Italy and Juventus coach got another job, but most of the vacancies he would be interested in have now been filled.

    Conte won the Premier League in his first season at the club in 2017, and the FA Cup in May this year.

    Chelsea join Jorginho race

    Meanwhile, Chelsea have joined Manchester City in the battle to sign Italy midfielder Jorginho.

    City manager Pep Guardiola identified Jorginho as his replacement for Yaya Toure, who left the club at the end of last season.

    The 26-year-old indicated a willingness to join the Premier League champions, leaving City confident of completing a deal for about £50m.

    However, De Laurentiis said he had concluded negotiations with City two weeks ago but that Jorginho had subsequently told him his preference was a move to London.

    “If the player would rather live in London than Manchester, I can understand that,” said De Laurentiis.

    “I’ll have to apologise to Manchester City”, he added.

    “If Chelsea are paying him even more, I can understand that too. Jorginho and Sarri together again? Jorginho would go to Chelsea regardless of Sarri.”

    Jorginho signed for Napoli in 2014 and made 36 appearances for the Serie A side last season, scoring against City in the Champions League in November.

    BBC