London: Maurizio Sarri has said that he would give up all of his possessions to win a first major trophy in management with Chelsea and revealed that he had been unwinding ahead of starting work at Stamford Bridge by reading the political novelist Vargas Llosa.
With former manager Antonio Conte having released a statement on Monday that noticeably did not mention owner Roman Abramovich or members of the club’s board, his successor gave a first interview in which he outlined his ambitions for the job.
Sarri, though, did not address the key internal uncertainties that surround the futures of Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, who are both yet to agree contract extensions amid interest from Real Madrid.
Chelsea still plan to start next season with Hazard, who has two years left on his contract, and there are also doubts over whether Real Madrid would match a valuation beyond the £200 million (Dh973 million) world record fee for Neymar. Courtois has been offered a new 200,000-a-week deal but is yet to extend a contract that expires next year.
Asked why he had chosen to leave Napoli and move to England, Sarri said that Chelsea’s status within world football’s strongest league had been the decisive factor.
“Chelsea is one of the most important clubs, in the most important championship in Europe,” said Sarri. “In the Premier League, there are all the most important coaches in Europe, maybe the world. It will be very exciting to play against [Pep] Guardiola, to play against [Mauricio] Pochettino, to play against [Jose] Mourinho, to play against [Jurgen] Klopp.”
Sarri’s arrival has already been instrumental in the 50 million pounds signing of Jorginho, his former midfielder at Napoli, and he expects the Italy midfielder to help Chelsea change their style.
“With one or two adjustments, we can try to play my football,” said Sarri. “The players must enjoy it. Jorginho is not a physical player, he is a technical player, but the most important quality is that he is very quick in the mind. He has the ability to move the ball very quickly. I want to play my football, I want to enjoy myself, I want also to win something. It’s 100 per cent hard work, 90 per cent fun. I would surely give all my possessions to win something with Chelsea.”
— The Telegraph Group Ltd, London
