Former Chelsea manager regrets that his actions had consequences

Exactly one Roman Abramovich era Chelsea manager has quit. Call it a mutual decision or paint it up however you prefer, but the basic idea is that Maurizio Sarri quit as soon as he could. This manager quit during one of the most volatile moments in Chelsea’s recent history with Eden Hazard departing and the transfer ban beginning. He put in exactly zero effort to try to bond with fans or become a part of Chelsea’s club culture, and in turn the fans replied with the amount of support that warranted.

Sarri was sacked by Juventus in the following season despite winning Serie A. An embarrassing Champions League exit was all it took for Juventus to recognize all the issues that had existed at Chelsea the season prior. Frank Lampard, meanwhile, went to great lengths to bond with fans. With a squad lacking its best player of the last decade and reliant on players that were in the Championship the season prior, Chelsea finished just six points and one spot off of Sarri’s season.

Former Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri now believes it is a mistake to have left. Or rather, he regrets that actions have consequences. At a moment when the club needed stability and bravery, he ran back to Italy. No, fans were in support of him but that was always a two way street. It’s hardly shocking that the issues he had at Chelsea were the exact same issues he had at Juventus. Now, Sarri is the Lazio manager, but as he did when he won Europa League and thanked Napoli, he is talking about an old club rather than the one he is at.

There should be no waxing lyrical about Sarri’s time at Chelsea. The team was awful to watch and that was seen as an ideal. Pep Guardiola and Eddie Howe surely saw it as ideal as they absolutely destroyed a Chelsea team that seemingly cared more about possession numbers than anything else.

What’s even more ridiculous is Sarri claims a player like Mason Mount suits his way of playing. While true, there is almost no chance Mount is given the same chance by Sarri that he got with Lampard. Managers that play youth play them when they have alternatives. When Sarri had alternatives, he used them throughout an entire Europa League campaign. He was slow to warm to Ruben Loftus-Cheek and he had to be ordered by the board to play Callum Hudson-Odoi at all. If Mount had stayed at Chelsea at all for a second Sarri season (which itself is not a guarantee even with a transfer ban), it is highly likely that Mount would have remained behind Ross Barkley, Mateo Kovacic, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (even while injured) in the pecking order.

Sarri further discusses Jorginho and his Ballon d’Or chances while taking the laziest path to say some don’t understand him. Jorginho is well understood. It’s just that Sarri stuck him into such a specialized, minimizing role that his weaknesses were highlighted more often and his strengths were hidden more often. Jorginho, despite not being a tactical fit, played better under Lampard than he did Sarri. He played even better than that under Thomas Tuchel in a midfield pair which Sarri also thinks Jorginho is less suited for. And right now for Italy, Jorginho is playing in a role much more akin to the one he did play for Sarri, but he’s playing better than he ever has because he’s actually given freedom to use his skillset.

Rafa Benitez was recently hired by Everton fans who hated the thought, but it did cause some Chelsea fans to look back on his time in the right type of blue. Benitez was hated by the Chelsea fans when he was announced but by the end, he was at least respected. Much of that has to do with him showing respect back to the fans and actually wanting to keep the job. Sarri was dismissive of fans and quit as soon as it appeared things would get hard.

Chelsea is in a vastly better place now because Sarri quit, however. Lampard helped to add a new spine to the team that had been sorely lacking in Sarri’s Chelsea. Tuchel took it a step further and added a grit and determination that was also sorely lacking in Sarri’s Chelsea. And now, after having been sacked by the club he ran away to and being hired by Lazio, Sarri feels like he made a mistake. He did, but his mistake has only made Chelsea a stronger team than they ever would have been had he had the bravery to stay through Hazard’s departure and the transfer ban.