Impending Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was a ‘hit with English women’ during his playing days according to an old team-mate.
Maresca is set to be announced as the Blues’ new manager after guiding Leicester City to win the Championship title in his first season in charge, seeing them make an immediate return to the Premier League.
The Italian was under the tutorage of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but some fans will be surprised to learn the former midfielder began his senior career in England at West Brom despite having no grasp of the language.
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Former West Brom striker and James Quinn recalled how Maresca was a “hit with English women” on nights out with his team-mates, Quinn previously told The Athletic: “He wasn’t a big drinker. He would sometimes come out and not drink and sometimes he would have the odd one.
“But he would never drink to the levels we used to in those days. I think he was a little bit surprised at what went on when players went out in the late 90s, but he would still be amongst us, laughing and joking.
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(Image: Getty Images)
“He was a good-looking lad and would get a bit of attention from the ladies and he loved that, but he was always respectful. There weren’t many good-looking Italians rocking around Birmingham in those days, especially young, famous footballers who had an exotic accent.
“So I suppose they were more likely to go and speak to Enzo than me and Hughesy (Lee Hughes).
“He enjoyed it, like any man would, but he never went overboard. He threw himself into everything he had to do, whether it was dressing-room banter, training, English lessons, cooking, and he really adapted well.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Maresca left the Baggies in 2000, returning to Italy with Juventus.
He retired in 2017 at Hellas Verona and joined Ascoli in Serie B as a coach before heading to City as manager of their Elite Development Squad in 2020.