Radiating calm and sporting a tan, Enzo Maresca shared a heartfelt message as he took the helm at Manchester City, facing the immense challenge of stepping into the shoes of the legendary Pep Guardiola. “Before we begin, I would like to send a message and a big hug to Kevin Keegan’s family at this difficult time,” the Italian said, paying respects to a football icon after his passing on Monday.
Keegan, naturally, once managed City and, while at Newcastle, famously clashed with Sir Alex Ferguson, then the boss of Manchester United, the bitter adversaries of the club Maresca now leads. Seated on the same platform where Guardiola held court for a largely glorious decade, the 46-year-old Italian made a voluntary mention of Ferguson – and Arsène Wenger – revealing his acute awareness of the monumental challenge ahead.
How does one succeed a figure who amassed 20 trophies over 10 years and stands shoulder to shoulder with Ferguson? By addressing the obvious and attempting to defuse it. “When a manager stays at one club for many years, the aftermath has often been difficult – look at the periods after Sir Alex, after Arsène,” Maresca observed. “But it’s also an opportunity to quickly put things on the right track for this institution, for the supporters, for all involved.”
Standing beneath an oversized “Welcome back Enzo” banner — a nod to his earlier spell coaching City’s elite development side in 2020-21 and his role as Guardiola’s assistant during the 2022-23 treble-winning campaign — Maresca understood that goodwill would quickly evaporate if results faltered, especially among the famously fickle fanbase. He therefore shrewdly highlighted the long-term vision of chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak and the club’s leadership. “In 17 years, this club has had only three managers,” he noted. “That’s not typical, and it gives me confidence that we can build something great and sustain the work of recent years. Roberto [Mancini] was here, then Manuel [Pellegrini], and then Pep for a decade.”
Mancini’s reign from December 2009 to his dismissal in May 2013 was fraught with tension — precisely the kind of environment al-Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano wanted to avoid. Whereas Mancini could be tempestuous, Pellegrini brought calm, and Guardiola was simply a master of his craft. Maresca’s previous two seasons at City clearly left al-Mubarak and Soriano with the impression that he possesses the complete blend of football expertise and a composed temperament. Still, his departure from Chelsea on New Year’s Day involved a public apology and City paying the London club £17m in compensation. When questioned about that episode, Maresca’s usually open demeanor became guarded — for the first and only time. “I consider myself fortunate with my previous clubs — Leicester, Chelsea — I believe we did excellent work,” he said. “At both, the team’s identity was obvious, the achievements were clear, and I’m grateful to have been part of those projects. But today is about the present. The focus is solely on City. Nothing more to say.”
Maresca steered Leicester to the Championship title, then guided Chelsea to a fourth-place Premier League finish and a Conference League victory the following season, capping it off with the Fifa Club World Cup last summer. A crushing 3-0 defeat of Paris Saint-Germain in the final likely served as the decisive showcase that landed him the City role.
He spoke of targeting “championships” in the upcoming campaign. To support that goal, Maresca can call upon Elliot Anderson, a £116m acquisition from Nottingham Forest, to command the midfield, and possibly Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi, who impressed for Morocco at the World Cup, to add further strength in that area. He remains keen on Malo Gusto, a right-back from his Chelsea days, and should Omar Marmoush depart, the club will seek a similarly rapid attacker in the transfer market.
One figure Maresca is desperate to keep is the incomparable Rodri, fresh from lifting the World Cup with Spain on Sunday and earning the Golden Ball award. His mastery of matches in the increasingly frenetic domestic league is invaluable. The 30-year-old is scheduled for back surgery on Monday; reports suggest the issue is not severe, but he will sit out City’s season opener at home against Bournemouth. A far more critical date is 1 September, when the transfer window shuts: will Real Madrid test City’s resolve for a player with one year remaining on his contract who is currently unwilling to sign the extension offered?
More pressing for Maresca is departing on Tuesday for a pre-season tour across Asia, with fixtures against Inter in Hong Kong, the K-League All Stars, and Atlético Madrid in Seoul. He will be joined on the trip by City’s key players who made early World Cup exits, among them Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic and Abdukodir Khusanov.
“Right now I’m working with a lot of young talents,” he said. “That’s always positive — they bring a lot of energy and some are really promising. The final batch of players will link up with us three or four days before the Community Shield, and by then the full squad will be together.” Following that Cardiff clash with Arsenal on Sunday 16 August, the serious pursuit of emulating Guardiola’s success gets under way.
“You have to keep adapting and evolving,” Maresca added regarding his tactical approach. “Set plays, man-to-man marking — that’s the way the game is heading. As coaches, it’s our responsibility to come up with answers.” Soon we will learn just how adept he is at doing so.
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