Who is Enzo Maresca’s assistant manager? Chelsea’s new backroom staff revealed

Updated: 3 Jun 2024 15:21 BST
4 min read

New Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has been handed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge to replace Mauricio Pochettino, who departed at the conclusion of the Premier League season.

Chelsea have paid Leicester in the region of €11.7 million (£10m) to release the Italian from his contract, with the deal made official on Monday.

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Maresca has set about planning his changes at the club, taking time out from his holiday to outline his three major transfer priorities for the Stamford Bridge side this summer.

But while there will be changes in the playing staff, there will also be alterations behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.

The Telegraph reports that Maresca will bring five members of his backroom staff at Leicester south to London.

© IMAGO - Enzo Maresca will be Chelsea's new manager

Who is on Enzo Maresca’s backroom staff at Chelsea?

Willy Caballero – Assistant manager

Willy Caballero is Maresca’s assistant manager at Chelsea. He is undoubtedly the figure in Maresca’s group that Chelsea fans will recognise best.

A former goalkeeper, the 42-year-old spent a four-year stint as a player at Stamford Bridge, and though he was primarily a squad player, he was part of the team that won the 2021 Champions League final, albeit as an unused substitute.

His most memorable moment for the Blues, though, arrived during the 2019 EFL Cup final. With the match heading for penalties, Maurizio Sarri tried to sub Caballero onto the field for the shootout, but Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to come off. The Spaniard stayed in goal amid the farcical scenes and Chelsea lost to Manchester City.

Danny Walker – First-team coach

First-team coach Danny Walker has joined Chelsea, too. He previously worked with Maresca at Manchester City, where he was with the U23 side, and joined him at Leicester last year. In between times, he had a stint with Peterborough U21 as head coach.

Michele De Bernardin – Goalkeeper coach

Another relatively new face with Maresca is goalkeeper coach Michele De Bernardin. He has been doing this role since 1998 at various clubs, including Parma and Sampdoria, before hooking up with the Leicester boss in 2023. The pair know each other from their time at Parma.

Marcos Alvarez – Fitness coach

The one member of Maresca’s backroom staff with senior Premier League experience is fitness coach Marcos Alvarez, who was previously with Tottenham.

A conditioning coach for nearly 20 years, he has also notably worked with Real Madrid. However, he is well-travelled, having taken the position at the likes of CSKA Moscow, Dnipro and Real Betis. He previously worked with Maresca at Parma.

Javier Molina Caballero – First-team analyst

Another to work with the Chelsea manager at Parma, Javier Moreno Caballero has primarily been active in Spain, where he held roles for Barcelona B, Racing and Atletico Madrid.

Roberto Vitiello

A former defender who played briefly in Serie A with Palermo, he was suspended from all football activities in for nine months due to his part in the 2011 Italian match-fixing scandal. This was reduced from four years.

Ben Roberts - goalkeeping coach and head of global goalkeeping

Was on Mauricio Pochettino's staff at Chelsea having previously been employed at Brighton. He retains his role as goalkeeper coach and is the head of global goalkeeping.

Bernardo Cueva - set-piece coach

The Mexican heads up the set-piece department at Stamford Bridge, having previously been an analyst at Brentford, Norway and Chivas. He has been a long-time target of the Blues and does not arrive under Maresca instruction.

Read more about: Premier League, Chelsea