Chelsea coach Maresca accepted a one-on-one interview with Sky Sports and talked about his tactical philosophy, Caicedo, Reece James' changes and other topics.
Has your tactical philosophy changed in the past year?
I am always trying to adapt, adjust and evolve while keeping the core of my philosophy unchanged. I consider every day, every training session, and every game to be an opportunity to learn and improve. The Premier League has changed a lot in the past year. For example, many teams are now trying the long throw-in tactic, but this is nothing new. Such tactics have existed as early as twenty or thirty years ago. At that time, many teams were using the long pass tactic, and now this style of play is becoming popular again. Yes, there are people in the Premier League now discussing this direct style of play.
The Premier League has gone through a period of great emphasis on coordination of passing and control. Is this change good or bad?
It depends on each club and each coach's perspective, and the good thing is that you have to adapt to the change and find a way to crack it. Nowadays, the Premier League is very competitive and every team is performing very well. As a coach, it is very complicated to face such strong opponents every week. Every team is very competitive, they have excellent players and coaches, and they are well prepared, so every game is difficult. Every team is looking at different aspects and looking at the way Sunderland and Bournemouth are playing, their managers are both highly rated right now.
Talking about Caicedo
He is performing very well and has been improving every day. He is open, eager to learn and helps his teammates in every game. I think his role in the team is also very interesting, obviously, originally he was a traditional defensive midfielder, but now it feels like he's everywhere, involved in the high press and scoring goals, and that ability to be able to get up and down is something he's newly developed, and it also has to do with the team's movement off the ball because we're trying to press hard until the end. The goal he scored against Tottenham in the last game was the result of his high press in the penalty area, which he did very well.
You yourself were a versatile midfielder during your playing days. Do you see your own shadow in him?
Maybe a little bit (laughing), but he might be a few levels higher than me.
Last year we witnessed the birth of Rodri, the Ballon d'Or midfielder. It is not an exaggeration to say that Caicedo is one of the best players in the world now. Do you think he can reach the level of winning the Ballon d'Or?
He can still get better. He is already at the top level, but like any other player, he still has room for improvement. As for whether he can reach the level of winning the Ballon d'Or, I don't know.
Talk about the cooperation between Caicedo and Reese James
This combination is very good. They bring the advantage of physical confrontation to the team. If Lavia is healthy, it can also provide the same effect, but there is no doubt that both Reese James and Caicedo are very important parts of this team.
Talking about Reece James
He is very, very good. The most important thing for him is to stay healthy. As long as he is healthy, there is no doubt that he is a top player.
Reece James had health problems before. How did you change his situation?
It's great to see such a change, and I personally think it has to do with the way we use him. When he plays as a midfielder or a full-back, the running distance will be relatively short, and when he frequently goes up and down on the wing, the coverage area will be very large and he will be more susceptible to injuries. Obviously, he's now a central figure in the team, a captain, part of the leadership group, and his leadership off the field has had a greater impact. Since I came to Chelsea, he has gradually grown into a real leader and has performed well on and off the field. Many young players in the team also need his guidance. When Rees is communicating with these young players, he will say: "From a Chelsea perspective, we need to do this..." You can see that he has become a role model for other players.
Talk about using a large number of young players in the Premier League
It's always a matter of how to balance it, regardless of age, the most important thing is that they must be good players. Of course, after all, they are still young and you need to give them room to make some mistakes to get better. Mistakes are part of the growing process, but there is no doubt that they will get better and better. I think my goal as a coach is to help players improve.
source:ty so 7m cn