Enzo Maresca says Club World Cup could become ‘more important than the Champions League’ | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca believes the Club World Cup could become even more important than the Champions League in the future, after guiding Chelsea to the trophy.

The Blues beat PSG 3-0 thanks to a double from Cole Palmer, who also set up Joao Pedro for his side’s third.

Chelsea’s victory capped off the first edition of the new look Club World Cup tournament and Maresca believes the competition will only get bigger.

He said: “The truth is that one day, I said to the guys inside, that I have the feeling that this competition is going to be as important, if not more important, than the Champions League.

“I was lucky three years ago to be part of the coaching staff when we won the Champions League [at Man City].

“I lived all these moments, but the truth is that this competition is one of the best in the world. We value it as the Champions League, if not more so, because it has really been a great triumph for us and to allow the fans of Chelsea to have the chance for the next four years with this badge, the truth is that for us it is an honour.”

Maresca said he was especially happy that his side beat Luis Enrique’s to lift the trophy as he considers them the best team in the world: “Being Club World Cup champions is something that we are very proud of,” he said.

“We are very happy, especially against PSG, that as I said two days ago in the press conference, I consider them the best in the world, with one of the best managers in the world, fantastic players. Today has been a top, top achievement.”

It has been a successful first season in charge of Chelsea for the Italian, who also guided his team to Champions League qualification and the Conference League title too.

“I work every day just to prove myself,” Maresca said.

“I try always to learn, I try to do every session, every game, what we can do better, what we can learn.

“It has been a fantastic season, as you said, but I’m especially happy for the players. We said many times that the talent is not enough. We need sacrifice, we need togetherness, we need a game plan where all the players think in the same way. And it’s just because of them.”

Chelsea were 3-0 up before the end of the first half, and Maresca thinks they even won the game within the first 10 minutes.

He explained: “The message was quite clear. I think we won the game in the first 10 minutes, and the message before the game was to let them understand that we are here to win the game. I think the first 10 minutes, the team was there to show that we were there to win the game.

“That set the tone of the game, and then, again, the quality of the players, the game plan, the experience, everything has to be good.”