ENZO MARESCA claims Chelsea “are back” if they win the Conference League.
The Blues — who last lifted a pot in February 2022 at the Club World Cup — are one step from the final.
And they will be the first club to win all four major European trophies if they go all the way.
Maresca said: “It’s the only trophy that Chelsea haven’t won in the past and we can become the first club in Europe to win all the European competitions. So it’s good for the club.
“Winning the Conference League trophy is a statement in terms of that.
“You can say Chelsea are back because first of all you win a trophy and it’s more a way to start and to build a winning mentality with this squad.”
The Conference League is considered a third-rate tournament way below the Blues’ lofty ambitions.
Chelsea — who have previously locked the Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup trophies in their cabinet — are putting a positive spin on it to lift the fans.
Maresca also wants to boost the confidence of the Prem’s youngest squad — and a team of kids likely to include the likes of Tyrique George, 19.
Beating Prem champs Liverpool 3-1 on Sunday has given Chelsea a boost.
Forward Cole Palmer followed up his goal by enjoying his 23rd birthday on Tuesday.
Maresca said: “Cole had a good game against Liverpool, scored a goal, and then he celebrated his birthday.
“We had a session, I don’t know if he did something different, but he’s in a good mood.”
Chelsea will have less than 72 hours to recover from their semi-final second leg against Swedish side Djurgardens before an important match at Newcastle — one of their main rivals for a Champions League place next season.
Maresca said: “Last week we arrived here in the UK at 4-5 o’clock in the morning from Sweden and then Sunday we had the game.
“It will be the same this weekend but we’re going to try to be ready for this game and for Sunday’s game.”
Chelsea enjoy a commanding 4-1 lead from the first leg but Maresca will not ease up with his tactics.
He said: “We try for every game to start with the best XI.”
Despite the aim to win the competition, Maresca suggested it is a “win it and bin it mission”.
The manager is already setting his sights on more glamorous competitions moving forward.
He said: “Hopefully in the future we can be in different competitions but, at the moment, the reality is the reality.
“We need to start from there. We’re playing in the Conference League.
“If you play in the Conference you cannot win the Champions League — if you play in the Conference League you cannot win the Europa League.
“If you play in the Conference the only trophy you can win is this. We’ll try our best to reach the final and then to win it.
“It’s a good starting point to start to build a winning mentality and win games and trophies.
“I try to convince the players that first of all, day by day, you have to build the winner’s mentality, try to win from the play-off and try to win this competition.”
Victory in Poland on May 28 is purely an unromantic box-ticking exercise, designed to trigger a new era of success at Stamford Bridge in bigger and better competitions.
In 2019, it was a similar story when Maurizio Sarri led them to the Europa League title against Arsenal in Azerbaijan.
Chelsea had already finished third to qualify for the next season’s Champions League. The Europa League was a night out but an irrelevance.
Maresca is painting an upbeat vision of the future as he approaches the end of his first season in charge. One full of highs and lows to reflect life at Chelsea.
But it is also an honest admission of how far the club have fallen from their once domineering presence as serial champions.
A staggering 19 trophies in the 19 years under former owner Roman Abramovich, then turmoil.
Turmoil of Abramovich’s fire sale in light of the Russia-Ukraine war, the emergency takeover by an American-led consortium, plus five managers in just over three years.
And more than a billion quid splurged assembling a squad which finished sixth last season and 12th the year before.
Even for a club that once tried to electrocute their own fans with high-voltage perimeter fencing, that is a dramatic turn of events.
If Abramovich was still in charge, it is unlikely Chelsea would be stooping so low as to face Sweden’s 11th best team in Europe’s third-rate competition.
Maresca admits Chelsea deserve to be where they are — a launchpad to success.
As a midfielder, Maresca won three European trophies: the old Uefa Cup twice and the Super Cup with Sevilla.
This came after landing the Italian title with Juventus. All of the triumphs are stepping stones.
He said: “It’s important because it shapes you a little bit. All the experience.
“Probably the best experience in terms of winning mentality was with Juventus. It’s a club where you realise even in training sessions you want to win the small-sided game.
“So it’s a winner’s mentality. It’s nice to win trophies because you learn how to win.
“We mentioned many times that Chelsea is a big club with many important trophies in the past.
“But we need to learn how to win with this squad.”
Captain Reece James is a Champions League winner. Vice-skipper Enzo Fernandez was part of the World Cup-winning Argentina squad in 2022.
There are other gongs scattered here and there but, by and large, the Chelsea dressing room does not mirror the club’s glittering past.
Maresca is wary of Djurgardens despite his team’s commanding 4-1 lead from the first leg.
Chelsea beat Legia Warsaw 3-0 away in the last round and crashed to a 2-1 defeat at home in the second leg because they felt too comfortable.
Maresca chastised his players for that performance and will not tolerate a repeat. He said: “After the first leg, I said that the second game against Warsaw was not good enough.
“So that experience hopefully is going to help us, the players and us, to win again and continue to build the momentum.”
Read the full article here