From Tough Love to Triumph: Enzo Maresca’s Mourinho-Esque Push for Noni Madueke’s Stardom
Premier League Museum Admin 
Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca critiqued one of his players, Noni Madueke, after a Premier League match where Madueke scored but was not at his best, according to Maresca’s standards. He emphasized the importance of consistent performance and training.
Enzo Maresca said “With Noni, I have personal relation in terms of he can do much more. He can do much more. The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit and the reason why he was not playing is because I do not like the way he trained. He has to understand that he has to train every day good. He has to be ambitious. He has to give more assists. But overall, he is doing great, he is doing fantastic. He is doing even better in terms of numbers. Noni has to understand he has to work more because he can be much, much, much better.”
The article draws a parallel between Maresca’s management style and that of Jose Mourinho, who was known for challenging his top players to reach their full potential by not making things easy for them.
Jose Mourinho said “I am not the kind of guy who makes life easy for the great players. This kind of player is the last I praise. You have to praise the guys who play to their limits, who give everything. They are not superstars; they are just good players trying to support their teams. Don’t get me wrong, I still prefer the top players, the guys who win you matches and make the difference. But if they are ‘great’, they have to give more than the others. For me, to praise an ordinary player is easy. For me to praise a top player is not. When a player is different and has more potential than others, he has to use his talent in a good way.”
He continued by addressing another player’s journey under his guidance, emphasizing the need for talent to translate to performance and results.
Mourinho continued “Joe [Cole] was one of the best talents in the Premier League, and in English football, but I made his life quite difficult. He was fantastic, I was so pleased with what we did with him. A creative player has to use his ability and, if he loses the ball trying to create or score a goal, no problem. If he’s just having fun, though, and loses the ball in midfield and then doesn’t defend, and the team concede, that’s a problem. These guys have to go out there to produce, not have fun or look to humiliate an opponent, putting the ball through their legs. It’s about being respectful and having objectives.”
Lastly, Joe Cole reflected on the impact of Mourinho’s tough-love approach on his career, welcoming the push as a necessary part of professional growth.
Joe Cole said “When it happened to me it was not a problem. It is a grown-up’s sport. If you don’t play well or you don’t do what you are supposed to do, whether you expect to get criticised publicly or not, you need to be tough, you need to understand the nature of the beast. At times that treatment worked on me. He gets the best out of a lot of players, that is why he has won multiple trophies at multiple clubs across Europe. He knows about managing people. That is a good thing for Chelsea but the attention will now be on Madueke to rise instead.”
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