One of the biggest criticisms during Maurizio Sarri’s short time with Chelsea was his hesitation to use Callum Hudson-Odoi and Cesc Fabregas believes it is unfair to judge the Italian based on it.
“It is difficult because, from a manager’s point of view, you are fighting for your job every day,” the Spaniard told Goal. “That’s why coaches are sometimes hesitant to make changes or trust someone who doesn’t have the experience or is too young. They can look good in training but then in a game situation, they could freeze or make a mistake.
“The mistake could be in their head in the future if they aren’t strong enough. I don’t blame coaches too much. I know it is very difficult. Callum has taken it all very well. He kept working, he took it with a smile on his face and in the end, Sarri and the whole world knew he deserved to play.”
“He is a good boy who is full of confidence,” added the midfielder. “I remember this first training session that we did with Antonio Conte. We did 11 against zero. Just to do a little bit of play and finishing. His finishing was superb.
“I thought, I have never seen this kid before but actually he has something about him. It was very early and only the first day but you could definitely see something. Then the more he trained with us you could see that he was getting more confident. He was taking people on in training and he was not afraid.
“You could see that he had a lot of potential. Slowly, slowly he grew up. He played a little bit more and in the end, there was nothing else that Sarri could do but play him. Very well deserved and it is a little bit the same for Ruben [Loftus-Cheek]. It is unfortunate that they both missed the final.”
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