Maresca refusing to write-off Djurgården despite Chelsea hosting semi final with 4-1 lead
07/05/2025
uefa conference league
Cobham training centre, Surrey, UK
07/05/2025
uefa conference league
Cobham training centre, Surrey, UK
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon.
00:16OK, good afternoon and welcome to our Match Day Minus One press conference
00:21ahead of tomorrow's UEFA Conference League semi-final second leg against Doolgarden.
00:26We'll take questions from the floor.
00:28Chris, do you want to start us off?
00:31How did Karl Parnas celebrate his birthday?
00:35How important has he come to you in trying to win this competition
00:38and trying to get into the Champions League via Premier League?
00:42Yeah, we said it's a European competition that we're going to try to win.
00:48Now the next step for sure is to reach and to play the final,
00:52and then hopefully we can win the final.
00:56But the first target is to try to do our job tomorrow and to play the final.
01:01And then in terms of Kolya, he had a good game against Liverpool, score goal.
01:07And in the way he celebrates his birthday, to be honest, yesterday we had session,
01:11it was at session, then after session.
01:13I don't know if he did something different, but for sure he's in a good mood.
01:22Moises Caicedo won the player of the season at the club's awards.
01:25How important is he becoming to the team and to you?
01:28And do you think there's scope there to maybe improve his contract in the future
01:32because to keep him there is actually even longer at the club?
01:35Moises is doing well since day one.
01:38He's working very hard, he's working very well, he's humble.
01:43The good thing about Moises is that also the way he behaves,
01:48it's a good example for all the team-mates, for the young players,
01:53even if he's still very young.
01:56And then in terms of contract, to be honest, no idea.
01:59This is not the moment to talk about any different kind of contract.
02:03Now the focus has to be finish the season in the best way
02:08and then we decide at the end.
02:11Ian?
02:12Hi Enzo, how are you?
02:14Just explain how important winning this trophy is for you,
02:18what it would mean to you because it would be your first trophy,
02:21the major trophy in the European football?
02:24Very important, very important for sure, 100%, for different reasons,
02:30but the main reason is because we want this club winning trophy.
02:37In this moment we are in the conference,
02:39so we have to try to win the trophy in the competition that we are.
02:45So yeah, it's important personally,
02:47but for me it's much more important for the club, for the fans.
02:50We've said many times that it's the only trophy that Chelsea didn't win in the past.
02:55Chelsea can become the first club in Europe to win all the European competition,
03:00so it's also good for the club.
03:02You obviously want to do both, but if you win this and don't reach the Champions League
03:07via the Premier League, or you reach the Champions League and don't win this,
03:11which is more of a success?
03:14I don't think about this, I didn't think about this, to be honest.
03:21I'm just thinking about tomorrow game, and then we have Newcastle away,
03:26so game by game, and then at the end we see if we are able to reach something or not.
03:31Both, one, we see, I don't know.
03:34Peter?
03:35Hi, I'm Luke.
03:36During your first leg, you spoke about the support of the Walsall game,
03:40or the Walsall tie in the experience, considering how the team plays here.
03:45Obviously that interview.
03:47How important is it that tomorrow night you don't replicate that,
03:52just from a sort of momentum point of view, but also from a relationship point of view,
03:56a positive feeling?
03:57You know, it's very important.
03:59As you said, after that game, after the first leg,
04:03I said that the second game against the Varsall was not good enough,
04:07so that experience hopefully is going to help us, the players, and us, all of us,
04:12and we are going to do our job tomorrow, play a good game,
04:16try to win again, and continue to build the momentum that you mentioned.
04:21So, it's very important.
04:22Was that particularly accepting the final ending?
04:28Yeah, for sure.
04:30Yeah, for sure.
04:31Even if the first leg was 0-3, the second game at home was not good enough.
04:37It's not the standards that we require to the players,
04:41and, as I said, hopefully tomorrow we can win the game
04:45and play a good game.
04:46Kieran?
04:47Hi, Enzo, how are you?
04:48Can you tell us an injury?
04:50Is there anyone surprising that's out, and how's Marc Guillaume come back?
04:55Yeah, no, we don't have any injury, and Marc Guillaume could be involved already
05:02in tomorrow's squad.
05:03Not sure yet.
05:04Probably for him it's better to have some more days in terms of training session,
05:08but it's very close to be back with us.
05:11Can I ask a practical question on the field?
05:14What do you keep on the profile that you see in your guys long term?
05:19I can answer the ones that are here, the ones that are not here, we see.
05:36I see Moy as a six in the way he's playing since we started.
05:43Yeah, in the last games he played for us some games as a fullback off the ball,
05:49but then on the ball it's a six, it's all the midfielder.
05:54For Enzo, I think we are trying with him since day one to get more goals, assist.
06:01In terms of numbers, he improved a lot.
06:04I still think that he can do better.
06:06I still think in the way we play, he's a player that he can score between 10 and 15 goals each season.
06:14And so with him it's the same.
06:16And Romeo is a six, like Moy.
06:22And we said many times that with all the players' feet, Romeo, Rhys, Wes, Jackson,
06:31for sure the team is a better team.
06:34Unfortunately some of them have been injured for a long time,
06:37but hopefully we can keep them now fit until the end.
06:40Davide?
06:41Davide?
06:42Davide?
06:43Davide?
06:44In this competition you've been considering a favourite two-state one.
06:47How much was that a pressure and how much is a pressure?
06:50Yeah, when you join a competition or you play a game that you have the pressure to win,
06:58it's not the same.
07:00So you have to do the job.
07:03And the most important thing is also to convince the player that there is not easy game,
07:10there is not easy opposite, because any game can be a tricky game.
07:16You see, we just mentioned about the second game against Varsav,
07:19the first game, the first leg we won there 0-3,
07:22then the second game at home we struggled and we lost
07:26and we could probably concede some more goals.
07:29So it's always complicated and for sure it's a competition that we are there
07:34and we're going to try to win.
07:36It's also important that, you know,
07:39it's a competition where we start from the,
07:42how do you say in English?
07:43Preliminary, how do you say it in English?
07:45Play-off.
07:46Play-off, yeah.
07:47It's a competition that we start from the play-off,
07:49not even in the group.
07:51We have to play the play-off.
07:53But we are in this competition and as I said,
07:56we're going to try to win the competition.
07:58First of all, it's the final and then try to win the final.
08:01If you make it to the final,
08:04who do you prefer to do it in the end?
08:07To be honest, I said many times that I consider Manuel Pellegrini
08:15one of my references, one of my professional dads,
08:19because I worked with him four years, two as a player, two as a coach.
08:23And I spoke with him a lot.
08:26When I have some doubt, I call him to try to,
08:31so I will be happy for Manuel Pellegrini at the same time Fiorentina.
08:36It's an Italian club, I'm from Italy.
08:38I played one season as a player with Fiorentina,
08:41but in this moment for us it's tomorrow game
08:44and then we'll see the other one.
08:47Ando, what did you learn maybe from your playing career
08:51because you won the Europa League twice and you talked about Manuel Pellegrini,
08:55what was that period like for you as a player to win a major trophy
08:58and a major trophy?
08:59What did it mean to you in the past and in the future as well?
09:04It's important because shape a little bit yourself, all the experience.
09:11I said many times probably the best experience in terms of winner mentality
09:15has been with Juventus because it's a club that you realise
09:20that even the training session you want to win the small side game.
09:24So it's a winner mentality, all the competition.
09:26And yeah, it's nice to win a trophy because you learn
09:33how to win.
09:35And this is also, we mentioned many times that Chelsea is a big club
09:40with many trophies, important trophies in the past,
09:43but we need to learn how to win with this squad
09:46that is different from the squad that in the past
09:49they won important trophies here with Chelsea.
09:53Is it important because most of that dressing room
09:55they haven't won major trophies?
09:56You have Rhys James, you have Endos Fernandes,
09:58they've won big trophies but many, many of the other players
10:01they haven't won a trophy in their career.
10:04In the Conference League you're probably very strong
10:06but is it important to get a bit of thunder for the future?
10:09Yeah, you have to, you have to, I try to convince the player
10:12that first of all, day by day you have to build the winner mentality,
10:16try to win, you know, small side games, games.
10:19And I said before, the competition that we are in in this moment
10:23is Conference League, where we start from the play-off,
10:26and we have to try to win this competition.
10:28Hopefully in the future we can be in different competitions
10:31but at the moment the reality is the reality.
10:34We've got time for three more questions.
10:36Rob, Andy, any second?
10:38Looking again at the way you see certain players playing
10:41where everyone's fit, with Lavia coming back for hopefully
10:45an extended period, does it re-raise the question
10:48of what to do with Enzo Fernandes?
10:51Because whilst that, he's been out, he's played next to
10:54I'd say, you know, a lot, but if that player goes to take him,
10:57does it kind of create the risk again that there might not be room
11:00in your strongest XI for Renzo?
11:04No, I think when Romeo has been fit, Enzo, he played most of the games,
11:09so probably with Romeo, Moy, Enzo, Cole, I think it's a strong midfielder.
11:15So I don't think if Romeo is fit that there is no room,
11:22there is no space for Enzo.
11:24Probably with Romeo and Moy, we can support Enzo a little bit better
11:29also defensively because we don't need him defending too much.
11:34When Romeo was injured, most of the time Enzo dropped next to Moy
11:39and tried to help Moy to defend a little bit more.
11:42So I think it's with all the players' fit, the team is better,
11:47so they are all better players.
11:49Where do you think he is at the office?
11:51Enzo?
11:52Yeah.
11:53Where he is playing now.
11:55For me, Enzo, on the ball, when we have the ball,
11:59since we started, he's playing always in the same position.
12:02Sometimes he's on the right side, sometimes he's on the left,
12:04but he's in the same position.
12:06Off the ball, when Romeo is not fit or Moy is not fit,
12:11he's defending a little bit more.
12:13But I saw Enzo immediately that he is a player that can be dangerous
12:19arriving in the box, scoring all assists,
12:22and I think between the goals and assists,
12:24he has a very good number this season.
12:26Andy?
12:27Hi Enzo.
12:28First, if I may just ask,
12:30in the lead to winning all four competitions,
12:33how much of a statement would that be
12:37to become the first club in Europe to do that?
12:40Important.
12:41Important, as you said,
12:43because first one could be the only club in Europe,
12:46so it's something important.
12:48And for me, it's more a way to start
12:52and to build a winner mentality with this squad.
12:55That kind of leads me on to just one second one,
12:58which is winning this trophy,
13:01would it be enough of a statement to say Chelsea are back?
13:05I ask this with the great respect that you may have something
13:08that, say, Real Madrid don't have,
13:10but you couldn't really imagine Real Madrid being sort of envious
13:13that Chelsea have had this, or should they be?
13:17For me, winning a trophy this season,
13:21Conference League trophy,
13:22is a statement, as you said,
13:27that you can say Chelsea is back because,
13:29first of all, you win a trophy.
13:32Then if Madrid or different clubs,
13:35they don't play conference,
13:37it's because they didn't deserve to play conference.
13:40I always try to be...
13:42If we play conference,
13:44it's because it's where we are in the conference,
13:47so we need to start from there.
13:48We are playing conference.
13:50If you play conference,
13:51you cannot win Champions League.
13:53If you play conference,
13:54you cannot win Europa League.
13:55If you play conference,
13:56the only trophy you can win is conference.
13:58We're going to try our best tomorrow to reach the final,
14:01and then to win the trophy.
14:03And as I said,
14:04from there,
14:05I think it's a good starting point
14:06to start to build,
14:07you know,
14:08winner mentality and win games and trophy.
14:10And we'll finish in the second row, please.
14:12Because what happened in the quarter-final
14:14against Liga Walla,
14:15so would that have any impact
14:18on your thinking of the liners?
14:19Will you start with this problem?
14:21Why not they finish the game
14:23and the rest of that?
14:25We try to,
14:26you know,
14:27if you remember the second game at home
14:28against Varsav,
14:29we start with Nicola Jackson,
14:31Cole Palmer,
14:32and it's a strong, strong, strong one.
14:37So this is not about,
14:38we try for every game
14:40to start with the best 11.
14:42So tomorrow we're going to start
14:43with the ones that we think,
14:45we guess that they are the best 11 for us.
14:48That way,
14:49against Liverpool,
14:50for you in the driving season,
14:51and with you,
14:52all you're just coming to Champions League,
14:54you're constantly coming on Sunday,
14:5612,
14:57how much that would be in your mind as well
14:59in terms of solutions?
15:00Tomorrow is the game for me.
15:04For sure,
15:05in 48 hours,
15:08after tomorrow we have,
15:10because we played at 12 o'clock,
15:12so there is no big time,
15:13you know,
15:14to recovery.
15:15But,
15:16already happened last week
15:18that we arrived here
15:19at 4-5 o'clock in the morning
15:20from Sweden,
15:21and then Sunday we had the game,
15:23so it was,
15:24the timing was not a big time.
15:26It will be the same this weekend,
15:28but we're going to try
15:29to be ready for tomorrow game
15:30and for Sunday game.
15:32OK, thanks guys.