Two titles in two years as popular former West Brom man bags European honour

Ex-Baggie Enzo Maresca, who played for Albion across two incomplete seasons between 1998 and 2000, made it two trophies in two years as the Blues saw off Spanish outfit Real Betis 4-1 to lift the continent's third-tier prize.

It capped a successful first season at the helm at Stamford Bridge for Maresca, who sealed Champions League football via a fourth-placed finish and won a major trophy.

The 45-year-old swapped Leicester for Chelsea last summer after leading the Foxes to the Championship title in 2023/24.

Maresca's Blues showed powers of recovery in Poland on Wednesday night as they trailed to Betis's ninth-minute opener until the 65th minute, but goals from Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo helped Chelsea - inspired by Cole Palmer's introduction from the bench - to a big late win.

“Hopefully it can be a starting point to build a winner mentality,” said Maresca. “You need to win games, you need to win competitions. And for sure, the trophy we won tonight is going to make us better."

The Italian remains fondly remember at The Hawthorns, where he played for just 15 months in a trying era in the old First Division for the Baggies.

Having come through the ranks as a schoolboy at AC Milan and then Cagliari he made the move to England in September 1998 with, as he admitted, no grasp of the language. He arrived with experienced midfield compatriot Mario Bortolazzi, who was with Albion for one season.

Maresca made just shy of 50 league appearances for Albion, 47 in all, and netted five times, becoming popular among the Baggies faithful for his stylish displays. His first appearance was a 2-0 Hawthorns defeat to Bradford City in a season Denis Smith's side finished middle of the pack, in 12th. 

Smith's replacement Brian Little oversaw a disastrous 1999/2000, until his March dismissal, but by which time Maresca had completed a £4.3million transfer to Italian giants Juventus in the new year, a club-record Albion sale at the time.

Maresca went on to enjoy a lengthy playing career in Spain - notably with honours at Sevilla - and Greece, as well as his homeland, until 2017. 

It was quickly apparent he was destined for the world of coaching. After a few years with Serie B club Ascoli, Maresca was hired by Manchester City in a youth development role beneath Pep Guardiola.

His first senior management role, at Parma in the Italian second tier, ended in a failed bid to make the play-offs and dismissal, but he returned to the Etihad as Guardiola's assistant and 12 months letter was swooped by Leicester, in summer 2023, and went on to win the Championship.

During his spell with the Foxes, Maresca told the Express & Star: "To be honest, I was very emotional. I met some of my team-mates downstairs (Daryl Burgess and Paul Raven) and it was a good one.

"The problem is you realise how quickly 25 years goes. Look how many people in this room...no hair! No hair! No hair! But it's been fantastic to come back especially to this stadium, where I scored and had some good moments. I can remember.

"To be honest since I left 25 years ago, 1998 I was here, it doesn't matter whether they've been Premier League or Championship, I always want to know at the end of our game what the final score of West Bromwich was."