That was one of the reasons why our head coach made sure to watch extra-time between Fiorentina and Real Betis before completing his media duties following our victory against Djurgarden.

Maresca spent the 2004/05 season in Florence and from there went to Sevilla, beginning his relationship with the beautiful Andalucian city. It is their great rivals we will play in Poland at the end of this month.

‘I met my wife in Seville, and she is from Seville,’ said Maresca. ‘My first son was born in Seville. I played four years for Sevilla, a big derby against Betis, and I scored a goal when we won a derby 1-0, so I know they don’t love me!

‘But no doubt I want to win the final, especially for the club and the Chelsea fans. Hopefully we can win this trophy.’

Maresca holds a significant connection to Real Betis, too. Their manager, Manuel Pellegrini, was his boss at Malaga later in Maresca’s playing career, and he then joined the experienced Chilean as his assistant at West Ham in 2018 (pictured top).

‘I’m happy to face Betis, especially because of Manuel Pellegrini,’ said Maresca.

‘In terms of playing against Pellegrini, like I have said he is one of my professional dads, so I am very happy. I learned a lot from him, especially how to manage players, how to manage a squad.

‘I had him for four years, two as a player and two I was his assistant coach, so I know exactly how he thinks about players. The most important thing is he is honest and he is a good person. He always tries to be honest with his players, and I tried to learn a lot about his way.’

On 28 May, friendships will be put aside as Maresca tries to get one over his great mentor.