Enzo Maresca eyes Conference League glory to complete Chelsea’s European set

Enzo Maresca is determined to guide Chelsea to UEFA Europa Conference League success this season.

The Blues are on the brink of reaching their sixth European final since 2008, and Maresca views the competition as an opportunity to make a statement by securing the only major continental trophy that has eluded the club.

Since beginning their European campaign in Wroclaw last August, Chelsea have been the standout team in the Conference League.

Their path to the final has been relatively smooth.

While the Conference League doesn’t carry the same prestige as Chelsea’s Champions League triumphs in 2012 and 2021, Maresca, like West Ham before him in 2023, refuses to dismiss its value.

Instead, he sees it as a chance to cap the season with silverware and re-establish Chelsea’s presence on the European stage.

The Blues are on the brink of reaching their sixth European final since 2008

He said: “It’s important to win this competition , because we would be the only club in Europe to win all of them and it’s important to start to build a winning mentality with this club.

“For me, winning a Conference League trophy this season is a statement where you can say ‘Chelsea is back’, because you win a trophy.”

Should Chelsea go on to win their first trophy, whether at home or abroad, since 2021, they will become the first club to claim five different European trophies – the Champions League (twice), the Europa League (twice), the Cup Winners’ Cup (twice), and the UEFA Super Cup.

Maresca added: “We want this club winning trophies. In this moment we are in the Conference so we have to try to win the trophy in the competition that we are in.

“It’s important for me personally but it’s much more important for the club, for the fans.

“We said many times that it’s the only trophy that Chelsea didn’t win in the past and Chelsea can become the first club to win all the European competitions.”