How a Conference League crown could kickstart Chelsea’s new winning era | OneFootball

It might be the achievement that doubles up as an indictment. Chelsea could complete the European grand slam, becoming the first club to win each of the Champions League, Europa League, (now defunct) Cup Winners’ Cup and the recent innovation of the Conference League.

It is, though, a trophy that Real Madrid may never lift, by the simple dint of never entering the competition. Of the four other clubs who did the old treble of European Cup, Uefa Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup, Bayern Munich feel unlikely to make a Conference League debut. Ajax and Juventus would be unhappy to be in it; for Manchester United, however, it could be a step up.

For Chelsea, though, a night in Wroclaw has an importance that goes beyond a statistical uniqueness. For Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, the least of the European trophies would be the first of their ownership. Lose to Real Betis in Poland and it will be three years without silverware. For now, the unavoidable comparisons are with their predecessors. Roman Abramovich’s tenure brought 21 major honours including the some of the biggest of all: two Champions Leagues, five Premier Leagues, two Europa Leagues and, a few weeks before he was sanctioned to bring an era to a dramatic end, a Club World Cup.

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Winning the Conference League would complete the set of European trophies for Chelsea (EPA)

Abramovich was an impatient big spender who burned his way through managers but Chelsea often won, whereas Boehly and co are impatient big spenders who have burned their way through managers. Enzo Maresca, though, is the sort of figure Abramovich may never have appointed: he preferred men who had won the Champions League, not the Championship.

The importance of the Conference League may lie in its status as the first for the new regime if it leads to more, rather than a huge feat in its own right. Fresh from finishing sixth in LaLiga, Betis represent serious opponents in the final but Chelsea’s path through the knockout stages included FC Copenhagen, Legia Warsaw in the last eight and then Djurgardens in the semi-final. It isn’t quite as intimidating as Thomas Tuchel’s route to Champions League glory four years ago, taking in Atletico Madrid, Porto, Real Madrid and Manchester City. Not in a competition where Chelsea did not even bother registering Cole Palmer for the group stage.

But there is a case for saying that winning the Conference League would render the season a success on two fronts. They always seemed to possess a huge advantage in the third European competition: even Betis and Fiorentina only have a fraction of their resources. But fourth in the Premier League was better than many predicted and perhaps the best realistic scenario.

It was an accomplishment in the context of their youth, given no Premier League side had ever completed a season with a lower average age. Not when viewed in terms of expenditure, however. Maresca has shown a touchiness and seemed to think they overachieved. If he was not responsible for much of the £1.2bn outlay, it still occurred.

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Enzo Maresca is not the sort of manager Roman Abramovich would have hired (PA Wire)

But that age profile means Chelsea have always operated on the assumption that better days lie ahead. Perhaps hindsight will suggest that time was kickstarted in May 2025, with the wins over Manchester United and Nottingham Forest to take them into the top five, and then over Betis to give some of these players a first major medal of their careers.

Certainly, parts of a team that could last for years – unless Chelsea want to sell them off for PSR purposes – is taking shape. In Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia, there are three very talented (and very expensive) central midfielders, albeit with the Belgian ineligible in the Conference League, and with the possibility of a fourth, should Andrey Santos return from his fine loan spell at Strasbourg. Chelsea have three fine right-backs, in Reece James, Malo Gusto and Josh Acheampong and a talismanic left-back in Marc Cucurella. Levi Colwill has long looked the future of their defence, even if there may be a need for a high-class, fully fit right-sided centre-back (and assuming they resume their attempts to sell Trevoh Chalobah).

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Chelsea’s long-term project is, at least in part, taking shape (Reuters)

Palmer’s 2025 goal drought does not alter his status as the poster boy for Chelsea’s recruitment policy. Given their obsession with buying wingers, the probability is that more will arrive this summer, beyond the Brazilian prodigy Estevao Willian.

Yet after the revolution, Chelsea should instead switch to intelligent evolution. Their two most obvious deficiencies are in goal and up front. Maresca has already confirmed that Filip Jorgensen will start against Betis instead of Robert Sanchez, but neither looks a first choice for the long term. Nicolas Jackson, suspended in the Premier League, could return in Europe.

And as Chelsea look to become pioneers, the first to do a new continental clean sweep, they have a record to defend. They have played in seven European finals and won six, four of them under Abramovich. That was the old Chelsea. But now the new Chelsea could do with displaying a similar winning habit.