On the evening of June 29, Enzo Maresca was officially announced by Man City as the new head coach. The Italian coach came to replace Pep Guardiola after a decade of great success.
Maresca has been unemployed since January 1st after being sacked by Chelsea. After that, the 46-year-old strategist had many exchanges with Man City's sporting director Hugo Viana. The two had many talks from that time to prepare for The Citizens' plan from this summer.
In Maresca's old contract with Chelsea, the Italian coach must be responsible for notifying The Blues if negotiating a new destination. Therefore, after being officially sacked by Chelsea, information about Maresca negotiating with Man City was revealed. He had worked with the Etihad club 3 times before officially leaving Stamford Bridge.
In a message posted on social networks, Man City used the word "welcome back" to welcome Enzo Maresca. It is not difficult to understand why he is a former player of the Etihad stadium, who used to coach the U21 team in the 2020-2021 season. After that, Maresca had a time to return home to coach AC Parma but was unsuccessful. He returned to Etihad to be Pep Guardiola's assistant in the summer of 2022.
During his time as Pep's assistant, Maresca also enjoyed the most successful period in Man City's history, culminating in the 2023 treble. After that, he moved to Leicester City in the Championship and won the 2023-2024 season. Along with Chelsea from the summer of 2024, he helped The Blues win the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
Enzo Maresca is considered a coach with plenty of confidence. When he was leading Chelsea, this quality was most clearly shown in the FIFA Club World Cup final, when Chelsea defeated UEFA Champions League defending champion PSG 3-0. Therefore, when returning to the familiar environment, there is no reason for Maresca to be afraid, despite Pep Guardiola's too big shadow.
If Enzo Maresca shows the qualities of a strong captain, daring to face difficulties like Pep Guardiola, he will be supported by Man City fans. However, the challenge of patience will be very great for the 46-year-old strategist. He had a successful time with Chelsea but just because of some conflicts with the board of directors, the fire of rivalry broke out. Maresca left Chelsea with an unwanted scenario, leaving too much space for the London team. The Liam Rosenior deal was then like a trick for Chelsea and Man City fans did not want to fall into a similar tragedy.
Man City is in the process of a generational transition, with some former veterans starting to leave this summer such as Bernardo Silva. Enzo Maresca's task at this time is not simply to find new personnel, he needs to restore form for some old pillars such as Phil Foden. The 2026 World Cup has occupied the entire preparation period for the new season, so Maresca will not have too much time left.
