Enzo Maresca is widely considered to have made a positive start as Chelsea boss. Of course, after the on- and off-field shenanigans that have plagued the club in recent seasons, that’s not necessarily saying much. But the former Leicester boss has guided the Blues to third in the Premier League table after 11 games, and they’ve also won three out of three in the Europa Conference League. But how does the new head coach at Chelsea compare to his most successful predecessors?
Although it’s still early days in Maresca’s reign, in this article we’ll take a look back at the recent managers who’ve actually won something with the club (so no room for Frank Lampard’s ill-fated managerial stints).
Chelsea Managers Past & Present
The managers we’ll cover are: José Mourinho (in his second stint at the club), Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Di Matteo, Rafael Benítez, Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, and Thomas Tuchel. Before looking into the title-winning seasons in more detail, let’s first outline how the stats compare between trophy-winning managers (since the 2009/10 season) and the current boss.
| Manager | From | To | Games | Won | Drew | Lost | Goals Scored | Goals Conceded | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlo Ancelotti | July 2009 | May 2011 | 109 | 67 | 20 | 22 | 241 | 94 | 61.47 |
| Roberto Di Matteo | March 2012 | November 2012 | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 43 | 23 | 57.14 |
| Rafael Benítez | November 2012 | May 2013 | 48 | 28 | 10 | 10 | 99 | 48 | 58.33 |
| José Mourinho (2nd stint) | June 2013 | December 2015 | 136 | 80 | 29 | 27 | 245 | 121 | 58.82 |
| Antonio Conte | July 2016 | July 2018 | 106 | 69 | 17 | 20 | 212 | 102 | 65.09 |
| Maurizio Sarri | July 2018 | June 2019 | 63 | 39 | 13 | 11 | 112 | 58 | 61.9 |
| Thomas Tuchel | January 2021 | September 2022 | 100 | 60 | 24 | 16 | 168 | 77 | 60 |
| Enzo Maresca | July 2024 | Present | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 45 | 20 | 55.56 |
As mentioned, we’ve featured only the managers who have won something with Chelsea and we decided to go back as far as Carlo Ancelotti but no further. Based on his first 18 matches in charge, Maresca actually has the lowest win percentage of those featured. But his is significantly better than other recent managers who failed to win any trophies of note: Mauricio Pochettino (50.98%), Graham Potter (38.71%), Frank Lampard (52.38% in his first stint but only 9.09% in his second).
Of course, Maresca aspires to be up there with the best Blues bosses, so there’s still room (and hopefully plenty of time) for improvement. Ultimately the club’s owners want the new man to lead his side to the Premier League title, something achieved by Jose Mourinho (three times), Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte (and, of course, Ted Drake back in 1954/55 if we include the old First Division). So let’s take a look back at the three most recent title-winning seasons of 2016/17, 2014/15 and 2009/10 to see what Maresca has to aspire to in the Premier League. As you can see, the current boss will need to improve on his current EPL win percentage of 45.5%.
Conte’s Chelsea Storm to Title – 2016/17
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- Points – 93
- Wins – 30
- EPL Win Percentage – 78.9%
- Goal Difference – 52
After Mourinho led the Blues to the title in 2014/15 in his second stint at the club, the side’s capitulation the following season resulted in the Special One getting the sack by the middle of December. After Guus Hiddink stepped in as an interim stopgap, Antonio Conte was given the job on a full-time basis ahead of the 2016/17 campaign. The club brought in a couple of key signings during the summer, most notably N’Golo Kante from Leicester.
Conte certainly hit the ground running at the Bridge and won the first three league matches. A draw, followed by defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal came next, but then Conte masterminded a run of 13 league wins on the bounce, a club record. With only three more defeats in the remainder of the season (to Spurs, Man United and – surprisingly – Crystal Palace), the Blues won the title by a comfortable margin of seven points ahead of second-placed Spurs, with Manchester City in third and Liverpool back in fourth.
Mourinho Retains Special Touch – 2014/15
- Points – 87
- Wins – 26
- EPL Win Percentage – 68.4%
- Goal Difference – 41
Mourinho was back at Stamford Bridge to prove he still had what it takes. Although the Blues only finished 5th in 2013/14, they performed significantly better the following season. The Blues had a great start to the season and didn’t taste their first league defeat until 6th December when they went down 2-1 at Newcastle.
By then they’d already consolidated their position at the top of the table, and with only two more defeats in the remainder of the season (against Spurs and West Bromwich Albion), Chelsea ended up winning at a canter. The next best side were Manchester City on 79 points, with Arsenal in third on 75 points and Manchester United back in fourth on 70.
Ancelotti Prove Class Act at Chelsea – 2009/10
- Points – 86
- Wins – 27
- EPL Win Percentage – 71.1%
- Goal Difference – 71
Carlo Ancelotti had already won the Serie A title and the Champions League (twice) before arriving at Stamford Bridge. And although expectations were high, he lived up to them in his first Premier League season in charge. A good start is generally essential with any title-winning season and Ancelotti led the Blues to six wins from their opening six league games. They came unstuck against relative minnows Wigan Athletic and then again against Aston Villa. However, wins over title rivals Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United more than made up for these blips.
The Blues lost more matches than they would have liked (including home and away to Manchester City), but Ancelotti’s calm and confident management style proved enough for Chelsea to clinch the title by a single point ahead of Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United. He went on to lead Chelsea to FA Cup glory as well, achieving the club’s first (and, at the time of writing, only) league and cup double.