During his first season as coach for the English top club Chelsea, Italian Enzo Maresca has emphasized the importance of participating in the Conference League to his players.
The tournament, the third highest level on the men's side in European football, made its debut in the 2021-2022 season. This year, the London club is participating for the first time.
The most complicated part this season with the Conference League has been to convince the players that for us, this tournament is the best in the world, said Maresca.
And the reason for that is that it's the tournament we're playing.
In recent seasons, Chelsea has spent enormous amounts of money on the player market - and the squad is valued at over 10 billion kronor.
Despite the investments, they have not won any title since the Champions League in 2021.
We can't play the Champions League if we're in the Conference League, and we can't play the Europa League either. We're in this tournament, so for us it's the most important, and we have to try to win it.
Tonight, Spanish Real Betis awaits in the final, after the London club knocked out Swedish Djurgården over two matches in the semifinal. A win there and Chelsea will become the first club to win the European football association's (UEFA's) all four major tournaments. They have also previously won the Champions League, Europa League, and the defunct Cup Winners' Cup.
The match starts at 21.00 and is played in Wroclaw, Poland.
