New Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri will have to change his ways at Stamford Bridge, after being told to smarten up and quit smoking.
“The 59-year-old Italian - who replaces Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge - has been ordered to wear a suit on matchdays rather than his usual tracksuit approach, and has also been told to cut out his cheeky half-time cigarettes,” reports the Daily Mirror.
“The sight of Sarri puffing away on the touchline became a regular one during his time at former club Napoli, before he was banned from doing so and given a special designated area in the home dressing room.”
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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich wants the former banker to look the part at Stamford Bridge, and he appeared to have taken the message on board as he appeared at his first Chelsea press conference in a shirt and tie.
“The former Empoli man was told to bring a British attitude to the job, and that means he has been asked to ditch the sportswear in favour of a suit by owner Abramovich,” says The Sun.
Despite his eccentric ways Sarri “has become the thinking man's coach, adored even by the game’s great philosopher, Pep Guardiola,” reports Goal.com.
And his arrival in the Premier League “represents a remarkable rise to prominence for a coach who never played the game professionally and cut his teeth managing amateur teams in Tuscany – where his parents hail from – while working in international banking”, says the website.
He also has a controversial past and during his first press conference as Chelsea boss he apologised for sexist and homophobic remarks he made while coaching in Italy.
“I think those who know me well cannot define me in this way; homophobic and sexist. Absolutely not,” he said.
“I am an extremely open person, I do not have these kind of problems, I hope I will show this when I am working here and living here.
“These mistakes were made, yes, but when someone makes a mistake they must apologise and accept some allegations can be made by the press.”
