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Cape Town - Former Chelsea and Napoli midfielder Samuele Dalla Bona has advised Chelsea against appointing Maurizio Sarri to replace Antonio Conte, citing his lack of trophies as a concern.
Reports are swirling around the British press that Sarri, who was recently replaced in Naples by former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti after narrowly missing out on the Serie A title, is set to move to West London.
Dalla Bona, who played for Chelsea between 1998 and 2002, is not convinced this would be a suitable move for him.
"[Sarri] played great football all of the time," Dalla Bona told Goal. "[Napoli] had a good system but Juventus were able to play a worse style but still win every year.
"I think Sarri needs to make that last step to be a champion and a top coach. He is a great coach, but he is not a world class coach because he hasn’t won anything – that means he isn’t at the top.
"I like to see a good style of football but in the end, if you don’t win but play good football, it doesn’t mean a lot. Juventus don’t play good but win all the time. I knew when Conte was going to Chelsea. I was sure that Conte is a winner, and, in fact, he has won two titles and proved it already: the league and FA Cup."
Besides his lack of honours, Dalla Bona also feels that there are other factors which could make Chelsea a difficult club for Sarri to manage.
"For Sarri, at around 60 years old going to London, a change of environment, he speaks a little bit of English, but I don’t know if it will be an easy move for him," he said.
"I am not sure about him, I know he is a good manager, but I don’t know if he is a good fit for Chelsea. Probably they will ask him to not smoke at Stamford Bridge or Cobham too!"
