Why Enzo Maresca could get special treatment from home fans in tonight’s game | OneFootball

For Chelsea fans who have been following the team since the early 2000s or before, a trip to Greece is nothing new. The Blues have been all over the continent and beyond over the years.

But for some of the younger players in the squad, going to play in these places is rather new and exciting, and brings a whole new set of challenges and opportunities to develop them. A trip to Greece isn’t as unique as the trip to Kazakhstan we’ve got coming up in December, but it’s still an interesting trip outside our comfort zone.

Manager Enzo Maresca actually spent a year playing in Greece, so he knows what he’s getting himself in for. In his press conference yesterday he was asked about how his team would cope with what could be a very intense atmosphere when they play against Panathinaikos in Athens.

Chelsea players train at the Olympic Stadium. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

Maresca’s memories of Greek adventure

“I’m from Italy and I know that it’s [the atmosphere] is very close to Italy. It’s similar. As you said, it’s a different environment, but it’s nice, I think,” Maresca said.

“I don’t think tomorrow’s environment is worse or better than Anfield last Sunday. So I think the players are quite good at dealing with that.”

Maresca played for Olympiakos, the sworn rivals of Panathinaikos, so he could be in for an especially spicy welcome from the supporters in tonight’s game.

He’s right that it shouldn’t be any worse than playing at Anfield on Sunday, although it will be difficult in a different sort of way. In any case, seeing the players build experience playing in all manner of tricky atmospheres across the continent is just what we want, and we hope that the B team put out tonight can get the job done with a minimum of fuss.