Champions League tickets are not enough

“Hopefully we can win on Wednesday,” Enzo Maresca did not hide his ambition when asked about the 2024/25 Conference League final.

Last weekend, Chelsea had an important victory at Nottingham Forest, thereby closing the 2024/25 Premier League by completing the mission of entering the top 4.

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Chelsea are not satisfied with just a Champions League ticket. Photo: CFC

Chelsea's season isn't over yet. The Blues have the Conference League final against Real Betis at Tarczynski Arena (2am May 29; Wroclaw, Poland), and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the US.

The Conference League was not a priority for Maresca at the start of the season, with the team only using a reserve team (or, arguably, a C-team) for the group stage.

However, once in the final, a specific goal was set: to conquer history. If Chelsea beat Betis, they would set a new record in European football.

As the story goes, Chelsea could become the first team in history to win all three of UEFA's current major tournaments: the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.

In fact, Chelsea is currently one of 5 teams (the first English team) to win all 3 major UEFA tournaments in the past: including Champions League/Cup C1; old Cup C2 (also known as Cup Winners' Cup); Europa League/UEFA Cup/Cup C3.

Other teams to have won a European Cup “hat-trick” include Juventus (completed in 1985), Ajax (1992), Bayern Munich (1996) and MU (2017).

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Maresca had a season with many highlights. Photo: Imago

Chelsea's history includes 2 Champions Leagues (2011/12, 2020/21); 2 UEFA Europa Leagues (2012/13, 2018/19); 2 old Cup Winners' Cups (1970/71, 1997/98); and 2 European Super Cups (1998, 2021).

If Chelsea win in Poland on Wednesday night, they will become the first club to win all three European trophies still in existence. Enzo Maresca and his team are on a date with history.

Maresca Ambition

“At the beginning of the season, we were in four competitions. Today, we have qualified for the Champions League and if we win on Wednesday night, Chelsea will only be out of the FA Cup and League Cup,” Maresca said, reflecting on the journey so far.

Based on the severe crises of the previous two seasons, Maresca's adventure with the Stamford Bridge team has been a success so far.

The FA Cup and League Cup are not the Blues' priorities, instead they are opportunities for experimentation, reserve players to show themselves, or some cases to regain their ball feeling after injury.

“I think, overall, we can say that this has been a very good season,” Maresca assessed himself.

“For me, I said it was a good season, it was even better to qualify for the Champions League. Hopefully, something good will come on Wednesday,” said the former Italy midfielder, who will face Manuel Pellegrini again in the Conference League final .

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Maresca and Chelsea are looking to keep Enzo Fernandez. Photo: Imago

Chairman Todd Boehly also backed Maresca's comments. When Chelsea hired Pep Guardiola's former assistant last year, they had only one requirement for him: a return to the Champions League.

That support is reflected in the new project that Boehly is about to launch, strengthening some stars like Rodrygo, Joao Pedro, as well as keeping Enzo Fernandez by all means .

“I want to win the Conference League, because we are an ambitious team and always want to win,” midfielder Moises Caicedo declared.

Caicedo is one of the differences Maresca has made at Chelsea. The former Brighton man came under a lot of criticism last season, largely because Pochettino failed to get the best out of him.

In the Conference League, 16 Chelsea players scored, while 13 had at least 1 assist. This dynamism is the basis for Maresca to believe in writing a new page of history with The Blues.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/chung-ket-conference-league-chelsea-dau-betis-tham-vong-maresca-2405253.html