Maurizio Sarri describes his relationship with the game of football | OneFootball

Maurizio Sarri left his hometown club of Napoli over the summer to head up Chelsea after the departure of his compatriot Antonio Conte.

Blues manager told ChelseaFC.com about falling in love with football as a child and what inspired him as a player.

The Italian manager described playing every sport available with the other children in his community. “Football was the priority but in our small village we played everything.”

Sarri showed his age by contrasting his formative years with the near ubiquity of live football today.

Despite enjoying the day-to-day grind of training with his team-mates, Sarri stressed the importance of having fun on the pitch. “I used to love the training. I loved being in a group and part of a team. I had a real taste for working hard and sweating.”

“The match was more like suffering! Because of the type of football at the time. A struggle,” Sarri joked. “It was man-marking and I had to follow a man for 90 minutes and it was a disaster!”

“My job as a defender may have been to stop opponents playing but the first time I went to the pitch I wanted to have fun and so I think it is the same now, otherwise it is only work, only a job. I cannot see a reason for football without fun.”