Chelsea
manager Maurizio Sarri gives Sky Sports a fascinating insight into his
transition into English football from Italy.
Much has been said about 'Sarri-ball' and its implementation in the Premier
League this season, with Chelsea sitting sixth in the Premier League having
just recovered from a dip over winter.
Sarri has received criticism from both fans and the press for a supposed
stubbornness regarding his style of play, but here the 60-year-old opens up
about his strategy, and why he is still learning about the English game…
"You've been criticised for not changing style against opponents…"
Sarri: "You are talking only about the system, I think, because I like to
play always with the same system, but in every match we change almost
everything. In the defensive and offensive phase, especially when we have to
build up the action with the defenders.
"I think the press consider only the system, not that we change our way of
playing in every match. Of course we like to study the opponents, because of
course we need to change something in our defensive phase in relation to the
movements of our opponents."
"What is the criticism like?"
Sarri: "I am without reaction because first of all in my mind I want to play
our football in the right way. The first target is to play in the right way,
to have a great level of organisation, to be able to come out to every
problem on the pitch, and I don't want to change before my team is able to
play my football in the perfect way.
"In Naples in the last season, when [Arkadiusz] Milik returned from injury,
sometimes we played a part of the match in 4-2-3-1, but this team was after
three seasons, ready to change."
"How long will it take to get to the 'perfect way'?"
Sarri: "It's impossible to answer. Sometimes three months is enough,
sometimes you need one season or one season and a half. I think if you
change country, change football, it is longer.
"Now I am in the first season in England, and I started to understand some
things, not everything at the moment, so now I realise that here it [takes]
longer, more difficult. Because the mentality is different.
"For example with an English player it is very easy to have a very good
intensity during the training, but it is very difficult to have a session
only about tactics. In Italy, it is the opposite; it is very easy to work in
tactics, and very difficult to have a very great intensity during the
training. It's different, not worse, not better, just different.
"With English players, but also with the other players, we have a lot of
players who have been here a long time so the mentality is an English
mentality. I have to understand, and I think I also need to have an English
mentality. I think I am improving!"
"Is Kepa Arrizabalaga still the first choice?"
Sarri: "Kepa is the first choice, of course, he is very young, he is
improving, we know very well that he can become one of the best goalkeepers
in Europe, but in this moment we know that Willy [Caballero] is doing very
well.
Sarri: Kepa still my No 1
"He is very important in our group and dressing room, so we need to consider
him."
"Has this brought the team closer?"
Sarri: "After a very difficult situation, a group is not the same. So there
is the opportunity to be better, and you have to take it."
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