Maurizio Sarri’s time at Chelsea was pretty tetchy, both on and off the pitch.
The enthusiasm for his style of play wore off quickly after the team stopped their strong Autumn run, and by the Spring tempers were wearing thin.
He fell out with the fans, the players, and eventually those upstairs too. When Juventus came in for him in the summer, it was a relief to everyone, not least to Sarri himself. The fact that he was able to sign off with a big trophy, having won the Europa League, was a huge boost to his credibility, and made the whole ordeal of a season feel more worthwhile.
He’s finally opened up a little about his experiences in London, and the former Napoli boss revealed that he was aware of how tough he was on his players, and also named the moment he got through to them:
“At Chelsea, I had a confrontational relationship with the dressing room for the first six months,” the Italian tactician admitted in quotes picked up by the Daily Mirror.
“But eventually the human relationship comes out and after the Europa League final we all cried together.”
We can imagine the scenes. Sarri had his first trophy, and the players knew this would probably be the last they saw of him.
No wonder there were tears all round.
