Now, as everything is gradually revealed, Enzo Maresca's suggestive statements about "48 worst hours" at Chelsea should probably be viewed differently. While Manchester City is preparing to enter the post-Pep Guardiola era, the plan to bring Maresca back to Etihad seems to have been shaped for a long time.
After the match against Everton in mid-December last year, Maresca suddenly publicly complained about the fact that he and the team did not receive the necessary support. "The past 48 hours have been the worst time since I came to Chelsea. People are not on our side" - Maresca said.
At that time, Chelsea was completely confused by the 46-year-old strategist's statement. Internally, the team did not understand who he was targeting. The situation continued to be tense for the next two weeks and the feeling that Maresca was pushing himself out of Stamford Bridge became increasingly clear.
The turning point came after the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on December 30. According to close sources, Maresca met directly with Chelsea's board of directors and said that he did not want to continue working. Two days later, Chelsea confirmed their separation from the Italian captain.
This is not a smooth farewell. Maresca left the club without receiving any compensation even though the contract was still more than three years old. Chelsea was also particularly uncomfortable when they learned that he had exchanges with Man City while still working in London.
In fact, The Citizens have long considered Maresca as the number one candidate for the position to succeed Guardiola. Negotiations between the two sides are said to have taken place even before Guardiola officially announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the season.
The task of replacing Guardiola is considered one of the most stressful jobs in modern football, similar to succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United or Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. However, Maresca believes that he is suitable for this role thanks to understanding the operating structure at Etihad after a period as an assistant in the Man City season that won the treble in 2023.
Maresca is often described as a "miniature Pep". He loves controlled football, deploying the ball from the lower lines, using full-backs tied to the center and considering the pitch as a tactical chessboard. However, his time at Chelsea still left many controversies.
Although helping the team win tickets to the Champions League, Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup, Chelsea under Maresca is often criticized for their too rigid playing style. Many times Stamford Bridge fans reacted fiercely to the team continuously passing horizontally and back instead of accelerating the attack.
Maresca even publicly declared that he would replace Enzo Fernandez if the Argentine midfielder did not pass the ball back in accordance with tactical requirements. He also once blamed the fans for making Chelsea lose their composure and forced them to play long balls in the Ipswich draw. That made many people think Maresca was too dogmatic. However, he also showed adaptability at important moments.
In the FIFA Club World Cup final against PSG last summer, Maresca unexpectedly asked goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to regularly pass long balls over the line to exploit the space behind Nuno Mendes. Chelsea at that time caused a big surprise against the European champions by playing more directly than usual. And this flexibility will be very important at Man City.
Even Guardiola in his last season also started to change his familiar philosophy. City played more directly with the speed of Antoine Semenyo, Jeremy Doku and the ability to create breakthroughs of Rayan Cherki.
