Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri says he wants and deserves to remain in charge at Stamford Bridge after the Blues ended the season with a 4-1 triumph over London rivals Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League final in Baku on Wednesday. That evening was a significant one in Sarri's career because it brought him his first ever trophy. The Italian manager had never won a competition before, even though he impressed the world of football when he was in charge of Serie A side Napoli. He joined Chelsea last summer after having spent three seasons at Napoli.
"I need to talk to the club and make sure I know what I can do for Chelsea and what Chelsea can do for me," Sarri said after the match. "I love the Premier League and I'm lucky I'm at Chelsea but at the end of each season you have to sit down and talk. In my opinion, I deserve to stay at Chelsea but my opinion is not enough." The boss has been criticized sometimes during the season, but he did manage to lead Chelsea to a third-place finish in the Premier League and to the League Cup final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester City. Moreover, he has recently been linked with the Juventus head coach job after Massimiliano Allegri left the Bianconeri at the end of the season.
"I have a contract for another two years," Sarri added. "At the moment, we are talking about nothing. I'm very, very happy but I think the trophy is very important for the club; it's less important the name of the players, the name of the coach. The first half was difficult, match number 64 this season and hot - it was physically difficult to play. I thought we were trying to manage the result. I asked my players to play with more courage, even if they risked losing."
The Italian manager seems to have the respect and support of at least some of his players. Defender David Luiz was full of praise for his manager after the club secured their first European trophy since 2013. "We had some ups and downs but we have improved a lot and learned a lot this season," David Luiz said. "We finished well and won a trophy. It is my third title in Europe with Chelsea, they believe in my game. Sarri is a great guy, a great coach and he deserves this. The manager did amazing for this club. I don't know about speculation, now is the time to talk about the title."
Chelsea are 20/1 at Bet365 to win the Premier League title next season.
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