Chelsea boss Sarri's superstitions unveiled

 In a story reported on 'MailOnline', Sarri's former players, dating back to his time in non-league Italian football in the 1990s, have detailed the series of rituals that Chelsea's new manager goes through in order to try and bring good luck to his team.

The bizzare actions seem to be working so far this season, with Chelsea joint top of the Premier League, but Sarri has undertaken them ever since being in the Italian ninth division with FC Stia.

Fabrizio Mazzini, who played there said: ''His tactical ideas were a novelty for the amateurs.''

The same could be said of his superstitions. ''One Sunday before the game we drank three coffees and we won,' said Mazzini. 'After this, he forced me to drink three coffees every Sunday for fear of breaking the spell.''

Another former player of the club, Luca Ralti, recalled that Sarri would always insist on lighting a cigarette every time he drove around a hairpin bend, otherwise he thought the next game would not go to plan. 

The rituals continued at Sansovino where Sarri had to park his car in a certain place and according to player Andrea Rossi, he demanded the same bus driver for following away games after one win. 

He also famously has refused, in every job he's had, to walk over the white line onto the pitch and at Napoli he famously had to be the last person to enter the stadium. 

The then Roma boss Luciano Spalletti caught wind of this and tricked Sarri. He pretended to go out and then hid, reappearing behind Sarri when he went out himself. 

Napoli's 22 game unbeaten streak at home came to and end that day. 

Although many will put it down to coincidence, after his meteoric rise to the top echelons of the game, it seems highly unlikely that the 59-year-old will ever change his ways.