Chelsea's Maresca says Conference League 'best competition in the world'

Enzo Maresca said he had to convince his Chelsea players this season that the UEFA Conference League was the "best competition in the world" as he prepares for Wednesday's final against Real Betis.

The Premier League club are seeking to end their campaign with a flourish in Wroclaw after securing a Champions League spot for next season.

If they beat Betis in Poland, Chelsea would become the first club to win all four major UEFA competitions, having previously won the Champions League, the Europa League and the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup.

Maresca, in his first season as manager at Stamford Bridge, said he had been forced to stress the importance of Europe's third-tier club competition to his players. 

"Probably the most complicated thing this season about the Conference (League) has been to convince the players that for us it was the best competition in the world," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"And the reason why was because it was the competition that we were in."

Chelsea are two-time European champions but have not won silverware since lifting the Champions League in 2021 under former boss Thomas Tuchel, now in charge of England.

"We cannot play Champions League if we are in the Conference (League), or we cannot play Europa (League). We are in the Conference, so for us it was the most important competition, and we need to try to win that. 

"If we are able to win, I think it's a good thing, especially because we continue to build a winning mentality."

Chelsea, favourites from the start, have reached the final in eye-catching style, scoring a competition-record 38 goals so far and winning 11 of their 12 matches.

Maresca, 45, will pit his wits against 71-year-old Manuel Pellegrini, a man he describes as a football "father figure" after playing under him at Malaga and serving as assistant coach at West Ham.

The Seville-based club, playing in their first European final, finished sixth in La Liga.

'Outburst'

Maresca rounded on his critics after his youthful side secured fourth spot in the Premier League on Sunday with a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest, even using an expletive.

The average age of Chelsea's starting XI is the youngest ever in a single Premier League campaign.

Maresca's men were within touching distance of eventual champions Liverpool in mid-December before stumbling badly, but results picked up again towards the end of the campaign.

On Tuesday he described Sunday's eruption as an "outburst" in the heat of the moment.

"From our point of view, they (critics) were not talking in the right way," he said.

"And the reason why is because, yes, we are young, yes, we are the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League, but at the same time, they are men.

"So I also used what critics had said to say, 'Guys, today (Sunday) is a chance that we can say that we are not young, we are mature enough, we can compete and we can do the right things'."

The former Leicester boss said sealing a Champions League place for next season had been a huge relief.

"We feel much better," he said. "I said a few times during the season that for me it was already a good season for different reasons. 

"It can become a very good season if we finish top four, top five and if we are able to win the final tomorrow. 

"The first target is there. We achieved that last Sunday and hopefully we can achieve tomorrow the second one."