Chelsea boss Maresca adamant money no guarantee of success

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has insisted “money does not win titles” ahead of Thursday’s Conference League semi-final first leg against Djurgarden in Stockholm on Thursday.

The Swedish side have been assembled at a fraction of the more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion) spent on bringing in players to Stamford Bridge during the last three seasons, with Chelsea now co-owned by US billionaire businessman Todd Boehly.

Two-time European champions Chelsea have cruised through the third-tier competition so far this season, with their only defeat coming in the quarter-final second leg against Legia Warsaw.

“You don’t win games and titles with money,” Maresca told a pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “We know that very well. It’s not about how much you spend in the transfer market.”

Chelsea are in a tough battle domestically to qualify for next season’s Champions League, sitting in the fifth and final qualification spot in the Premier League.

“You’re not going to win titles just because you spend big money. You have to spend money but in the right way,” added Maresca.

Djurgarden play on an artificial pitch at their 30,000-capacity home ground, something most players in Maresca’s side have not experienced in their professional careers, with the Chelsea boss concerned by the nature of the surface.

“It’s completely different,” he said. “In the last weeks even some of their players have been complaining about the pitch. It’s different but we don’t have any excuse or a reason why we’re not going to compete.”

Chelsea are at home to newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool on Sunday, with the Blues looking to keep hold of fifth place.

Maresca will be without the injured Robert Sanchez and Christopher Nkunku in Sweden, though Nicolas Jackson is expected to start despite only recently having returned from injury.

“We are trying to build a mentality, a winning mentality,” said Maresca. “For me you build that by taking every game, no matter who is the other team.

“It’s the only way to build a winning mentality. How can you build a winning mentality if you don’t win games?

“The players are aware that tomorrow is an important game but they also are aware the next one is important.”