Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has lambasted the conditions at the Club World Cup as “impossible”, claiming his side are unable to train ahead of the Blues’ final group stage game against Tunisian side ES Tunis on Wednesday.
Jude Bellingham, Niko Kovac and now Maresca have been singing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to things behind-the-scenes at the revamped FIFA tournament.
Maresca’s Chelsea side are due to face ES Tunis in Philadelphia, but have been caught in the middle of a heatwave, where temperatures are expected to rise upwards of 38 degrees.
The climate means the Blues have been largely unable to train, engaging in short, light exercises instead.
Huge fans blowing mist and air have been required during Chelsea training sessions
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The 45-year-old boss is understandably a bit miffed at what he is having to put his players through, and has blasted the conditions as “impossible” and that they are “not training”.
Speaking to the press ahead of their final group game, Maresca said: “We are not training almost. We are just doing very, very, very short sessions.
“It is almost impossible to train or to make a session because of the weather. Now we are trying just to save energy for the game.
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Enzo Maresca said the conditions are 'impossible' to train in
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“This morning’s session has been very, very, very short. It’s not easy in these conditions with these temperatures. We are going to try to do our best.”
Chelsea got off to a flier in the competition, comfortably beating Los Angeles FC in their opening fixture. However, they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Brazilian side Flamengo last week.
South American sides have performed extremely well in the tournament so far, leading to the question as to whether the conditions at the tournament favours them, coming from a warmer climate themselves.
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Maresca, however, was keen to dispel any rumours that he was conjuring up excuses for his side’s defeat.
“I always try to avoid excuses. I always try to be honest. It’s not about excuses, it's about reality,” he continued.
“It’s an excuse when it’s not hot and we say that it's hot. That is an excuse. But if hot, it's hot. It's difficult to work with these temperatures but we are here and we trying to do our best and we will try to win.
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Chelsea players have been seen struggling with the heat
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“Now in terms of the session, it’s impossible to do a normal session, otherwise you don’t save energy for the game.
“We did the session this morning, it was quite short, we prepared for the game and we will try to do our best to go to the next stage.”
Chelsea’s final group game will be their 60th competitive game in a gruelling season that has seen them go the distance in Europe.
While the conditions at the new-look Club World Cup have been a concern, what may worry fans more is the 2026 World Cup, due to be held in the United States and Mexico, that could present similar problems.
Bellingham mentioned earlier this week he hopes that it will be “looked into” ahead of next year, and undoubtedly players will agree with him.
For now, coaches and players must endure the scorching heat for the remainder of the tournament.
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