Enzo Maresca was sacked by Chelsea in January, so he currently has a few months of rest before taking on a new task. Currently, the Italian coach is considered the number 1 candidate to sit in the hot seat at the Etihad stadium to replace Pep Guardiola.
Maresca is commented to have an appearance quite similar to Pep, the philosophy of the two in the way they operate their playing style is also similar. Man City fans always hope that someone who comes later will achieve success like Pep Guardiola. However, this seems impossible because Pep's legacy is too great. However, they also do not underestimate what Maresca has.
First, the former captain of Leicester and Chelsea is considered to understand The Citizens very well. There would be no club culture shocks if Maresca took over at the Etihad Stadium. He is used to working in a top-level environment, especially at the world's top level like Man City.
With coaches in Europe at this time, only 2 people besides Pep Guardiola understand Man City's operations, Mikel Arteta and Enzo Maresca. Arteta used to be Pep's assistant for many years, and is now on a good development path with Arsenal. Meanwhile, Maresca won the FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea and also worked for a long time at the Etihad stadium.
Maresca used to lead Man City's youth team to win the Premier League 2. After that, he moved to AC Parma in his hometown but failed and reappeared at Etihad as Pep's assistant in the 2022-2023 season. Therefore, Maresca is considered a person imbued with the culture of this place and will not take much time to integrate.
Another person who also had an influence on Enzo Maresca's coaching career was former Man City captain - Manuel Pellegrini. Pellegrini himself trained at Maresca in Malaga and then appointed him as an assistant at West Ham.
If Maresca sits in the coaching chair at Etihad from next season, Man City fans may see a combination style of Pellegrini and Pep.
Right from the beginning of his term at Chelsea, Maresca applied Pellegrini's strategy, which is to direct defenders to hold offside positions right on the edge of the home team's penalty area. This system often causes opponents to fall into offside errors, but there are also cases where it is too easily broken.
When having the ball, Maresca finds ways to control the match with a slow, stable playing style thanks to his numerical advantage, similar to Pep's approach. His favorite 4-2-3-1 formation often becomes a 3-box-3 formation (or 3-2-2-3) when having the ball. However, he also shows his ability and willingness to adjust in the basic structure to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each opponent.
Maresca has a strength that is very meticulous in his work. When he was still leading Chelsea, in a press conference before the match against Liverpool, Maresca once said he clearly understood the opponent under Jurgen Klopp.
4-5 years ago, when I finished my playing career and started coaching, I reviewed all 38 Liverpool matches in just 1 week to study and analyze how they played under Klopp" - Maresca shared.
Later, that habit was still maintained by him at Chelsea. Maresca regularly watched the last 7-8 matches of the opponent he was about to face. This meticulousness was also applied even when Chelsea faced opponents in the Conference League or the FIFA Club World Cup group stage, matches where they were rated superior. In training sessions at Cobham, Maresca was always strict about the positions of players when they had the ball and not, as well as the tactics he wanted them to implement.
This is similar to Pep Guardiola, so Man City employees will not feel different when Enzo Maresca starts creating a new workflow.
Maresca's biggest disadvantage is probably his ability to connect with fans. Although he helped Chelsea win a Champions League ticket and bring home 2 titles, he has never been considered an icon in the hearts of The Blues fans. Maresca has Pep's diligence and enthusiasm but lacks humor and crowd-connecting ability.
Besides, being easily angered is also a minus point for Maresca. When he was still leading Leicester, Parma or Chelsea, he often showed angry reactions when facing sensitive questions from the media. He even had times to speak in a sarcastic way to the owners, such as the "48 hours of bad luck at Chelsea" before being sacked.
These are Maresca's downsides when Man City's board of directors considers appointing the 46-year-old coach. Besides his professional positivity, these downsides may make him not 100% sure of being appointed.
