Sarrismo’s effects on Chelsea are most visible when players are away

ByTravis Tyler|
HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Chelsea FC at John Smith's Stadium on August 11, 2018 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - AUGUST 11: Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Chelsea FC at John Smith's Stadium on August 11, 2018 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Maurizio Sarri has had little time to adapt the squad to his tactics. But his effect on Chelsea is most visible when the players are on international duty.

Managers change players. They change how they see the game and how they act in response to it. That is why international matches during breaks are often so sluggish overall. Players are fresh out of one set of tactics and have to suddenly adjust to a new system for two matches. Some players can hit that switch, some cannot.

There is often a notion that some players simply do not look the same in their national team kit. Raheem Sterling, for example, is a fantastic player for Pep Guardiola, but without Guardiola’s tactics, the scoring is just not there.

In the weirdest way, one of the most exciting parts of this break is seeing how shackled and lumbering the Chelsea players look. Not because they are bad, but one can see how they are trying to do what Maurizio Sarri has taught them. Their bodies have become hardwired to look for runs, passes, and space that their international teams ask them not to look for. It might be the clearest sign yet that Sarrismo is taking hold at Stamford Bridge.

N’Golo Kante was the first to showcase this phenomenon this break. In his more defensive role for France he looked like an island. He stayed welded to the back line with acres of space around him that he was not allowed to utilize. Kante played that exact role at the World Cup so it was not surprising, but after seeing what he can do with more freedom, it was a sad sight.

Jorginho, now a multiyear veteran of Sarrismo, had a similar issue. He rarely moved far from the back line which in of itself was far from the rest of the side. When Jorginho received the ball, no team mate came to provide an option or open up space. And frequently when he tried to play the ball quick as he would at Chelsea, his teammates were two or three steps behind seeing what he was attempting. Jorginho looked poor and a frustrating figure simply because he was doing what he has become hardwired to do.

Marcos Alonso was yet another name to add himself to that list. The new management can be blamed in part, but overall it was a quiet performance by Alonso on the offensive end. Perhaps he needs the black hole that is Eden Hazard ahead of him to distract. But regardless, he rarely if ever made an overlapping or even an underlapping run into the final third.

Sarrismo is a highly detailed style and it is surprising that it has started to catch on this quickly. But the players outside of it this break have been showing just how far along they are into the process. It might not do much for these players’ international careers but it will change the club. The only question is how much reprogramming Sarri will have to do when everyone returns.