Enzo Maresca reveals Chelsea strategy to manage Europa Conference games and marathon Journey to Face Astana
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Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca shared his thoughts about the lengthy travel time for Chelsea’s midweek match against Astana in the Conference League. The team faced an unusual eight-hour one-way flight for the match, largely due to having to adjust their route because of the conflicts in Russia, Ukraine, and Syria. In a pre-match press conference, he expressed the rarity and challenge of this scenario.
Enzo Maresca said “Eight hours [one way] is not a normal time [to travel] for a game, but we have to go there, we have to play and we want to try to do our best, thinking also about the next game.”
Maresca also touched upon Chelsea’s strategy regarding player participation in the games following the difficult travel schedule and conditions. He mentioned the plan for managing player fatigue and readiness given the adverse circumstances surrounding their travel and the subsequent match schedule.
Enzo Maresca said “The ones that are not involved tomorrow, first of all, they’re going to be training, and they have to train well. You never know whether we might need one of the guys who play tomorrow on Sunday. Ideally, we prefer not. We are going to land at 6am on Friday and it’s not normal for one of them, if they land at 6am on Friday, to play again on Sunday.”
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