Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca hails ‘great triumph’ in winning Club World Cup
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Chelsea's Reece James lifting the trophy alongside his teammates after winning the Club World Cup on July 13 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as US President Donald Trump looks on. They beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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EAST RUTHERFORD – Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca insisted winning the Club World Cup meant as much as winning the Champions League, after his side beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the final of the first edition of Fifa’s new competition on July 13.
“I have the feeling that this competition is going to be as important, if not more important than, the Champions League,” said the Italian, after adding the trophy to the Conference League title his team won in May.
He took over at Chelsea only in 2024, but was on the coaching staff under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City when they won the Champions League in 2023.
“I was lucky to be on the coaching staff of a team that won the Champions League a few years ago, but this competition features the best teams in the world and I think we can value it on the same level,” said Maresca.
“It is a great triumph for us and it will allow the Chelsea fans to have that on our shirt for the next four years, so it is a source of pride.”
Maresca said he instructed his players to go out and take the game to PSG from the off – they went on to net all three goals in the first half.
“The message was to let them understand that we were here to win the game and I think in the first 10 minutes we showed them that,” he said.
“That set the tone of the game, and then the quality of the players was also important.”
England international Cole Palmer was named Player of the Match after bagging a brace and setting up Joao Pedro’s goal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The 23-year-old therefore lived up to his superstar billing – his face has appeared on billboards around New York advertising the tournament, alongside the likes of Real Madrid duo Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr.
“To score the goals was a great feeling, as was the way the team showed fire out there – the gaffer’s game plan was spot on,” he said.
“I just try to do my job every time I go onto the pitch and hopefully, I will continue.
“I have seen the billboards in Times Square and outside Madison Square Garden and it is obviously a nice feeling to be alongside those players,” he added.
Said Maresca of Palmer, who was also named Player of the Tournament: “These are the games we expect Cole Palmer to appear and once again he showed what he is made of.”
Paris St Germain’s Joao Neves and Marquinhos in action with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Meanwhile, PSG coach Luis Enrique said he was “just trying to separate the players” after being caught up in a scuffle on the pitch at the end of the match.
Television footage showed the PSG boss raising his arm to the neck of Pedro.
“There was pushing and shoving, a lot of tension and pressure. The situation obviously should have been avoided,” the Spaniard told reporters.
“My intention was clearly to just try to separate the players.”
He admitted that Chelsea were deserving winners as he urged his team to enjoy a short summer break at the end of a remarkable campaign.
Defeat for PSG denied them what would have been a stunning clean sweep of trophies, as they failed to add the Club World Cup to the European title and French league and cup double they claimed in May.
“I think over the course of the game, they deserved their win. They played very well,” Enrique said. “I said beforehand that Chelsea were a very good team and they deserve their victory and the trophy.”
A historic season for PSG ends after 11 months and 65 matches, and they now have exactly one month before returning to action in August – when there will be another trophy on the line in their next game, against Tottenham Hotspur in the European Super Cup. AFP, REUTERS
