Manchester City’s journey post-Pep Guardiola is on hold as the club are still yet to confirm Enzo Maresca as their new manager but they will be getting a man who doesn’t back down from a challenge.
In the quiet period that is June, City are still ironing out the final details of an agreement that will see Enzo Maresca take over as his replacement. Until he faces scrutiny, we won’t discover Guardiola’s genuine thoughts regarding Maresca’s appointment. But having previously collaborated with the Italian at City and tasted glory, including securing the Treble, it’s reasonable to expect Guardiola will approve of the Blues’ next move.
Fans, though, might require some adjustment time with the new manager, particularly given Maresca’s now notorious spell at Chelsea. Two of our sister titles collaborated as the Manchester Evening News chatted to Football.London’s senior Chelsea correspondent Bobby Vincent to look back on Maresca’s period at Stamford Bridge and what City supporters can anticipate from their incoming new chief.
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“We met him for the first time in Charlotte, North Carolina, on the pre-season tour,” Vincent remembered, reports the Manchester Evening News. “There were a few journalists there and we had a sit down in a really posh bar where the Chelsea team were staying.
“Straight away, he came across as really nice, really personable and we had a really good chat with him about his time with Pep. From then on, it was a lot better for us because we got to know him and find out a bit more about what his personality was like.”
Yet, as the demands of the role began to mount, that rapport with the press grew increasingly tense. “When he was personable when we first met him, it might have been down to the scenario,” he continued.
“There was only four journalists, so five of us there, and he was always going to come across as more personable then.
“When it came to press conferences, when it was a busier room and more pressure… not straight away because when he first came in he was still quite relaxed, it was only really towards the end of his Chelsea tenure he became a lot more uptight.
“It didn’t feel like we had much of a relationship with him, as journalists, which you feel like you do have with managers. I am not expecting them to be our friends but it felt like we almost lost him in terms of any sort of personal connection. I don’t mean to sound like I am complaining about that, but I think that was the reality towards the end.”
When matters were progressing smoothly for Maresca at Chelsea, they flourished remarkably. He secured the Conference League in his debut campaign, the basic expectation for that tournament, and restored Chelsea to the top four.
That summer, Maresca guided Chelsea to the Club World Cup employing a recognisable style of football. Much like Guardiola, the Italian preferred his team to build play from the back and Vincent remembered how the 46-year-old once exploded at goalkeeper Robert Sanchez for launching the ball long.
He favours his sides to dominate possession and was particularly fond of the ‘third man run’ approach. His guidance also transformed Enzo Fernandez’s entire game – viewed by many as a beneficial change.
Yet Vincent reckons it would be harsh to label Maresca as a rigid coach.
“In his second season, he changed his style a lot and Sanchez seemed to go long more often,” he continued. “The Club World Cup final, which was arguably his best game as Chelsea manager as they thrashed PSG, a lot of that was down to Sanchez playing long, diagonal balls to Malo Gusto, who was the guy running in behind.
“PSG did not know how to deal with it because that is probably Sanchez’s best area. He wasn’t afraid to change it and he went against some of his principles [to be successful].”
Unfortunately for Maresca, that second season is when the wheels came off as his relationship with Chelsea’s owners BlueCo became strained beyond repair. Vincent believes his downfall started soon after the Club World Cup glory in New Jersey.
“When Maresca found out the severity of Levi Colwill’s injury last August, as soon as he knew he was out for the majority of the season, for Maresca that was a disaster because that was his centre-back and a centre-back he really relied on for his style to work,” he explained. “Colwill is the only centre-back Chelsea have who can break lines with his passes and it is really evident when he is not playing.
“As soon as Colwill was injured, Maresca spoke with the sporting directors about bringing in someone new and the sporting directors were trying to do that, but they went for Dean Huijsen, who went to Real Madrid. They felt they could do nothing about that because he is a Real Madrid fan and that was his dream, but still, they went for him.
“Apart from him, the centre-back market was pretty dry and they did not want to panic buy. They decided to tell Enzo to source a replacement internally and he had options, but he did not feel they were adequate options.
“He made that really clear in one of his first press conferences of the season when he went on this mad rant saying how: ‘The club know what I think,’ and that is where it all stemmed from. Speaking to sources close to BlueCo, they think Maresca’s demeanour changed after winning two trophies.
“They think he became more arrogant and full of himself and just changed a bit. From Maresca’s side, speaking to those close to him, they dispute that completely and they say he wanted a centre-back who was close to the level of Levi Colwill.
“December was the beginning of the end. There was one week, early in December, that Chelsea played three times in six or seven days and Reece James played in every game, for 90% of the minutes, and the medical team were telling him not to do that, so he fell out with them.
“That led to him saying that it was the worst 48 hours of his career which was extraordinary. I remember going back to my family for Christmas and all the noise was that something was going to happen.
“Then there was the Bournemouth game at Stamford Bridge where they drew 2-2, it was a disappointing game, and then he didn’t come out for his press conference after the game. We were told by the club he was ill and you are a bit sceptical of that because you have seen these things happen before.
“Willy Caballero [Maresca’s assistant] came out and did the press conference, backed up the claims Maresca was ill and then just over 24 hours later it was announced he had departed and we found out he was never ill. It was a rollercoaster and it was definitely one that left a sour taste in Chelsea fans’ mouths and a lot of the players’ mouths as well.”
Vincent worries City and Maresca might clash if the Italian isn’t granted as much influence over transfers and footballing matters as he desires. “To accept this head coach role, you need to be someone with little of an ego and I think the best managers do have them. Maresca is a great coach and I think he will do a great job at City, for what it’s worth, but I think he has got an ego,” he revealed.
“It is not a bad thing, people have egos especially when they are successful in football but if you have an ego when you are a head coach, that can create a problem in the future. If he does well at City, perhaps they will give him more say and more trust in him.”
Despite this, Vincent remains confident that City are on the right track with Maresca. “When any manager like Guardiola has been at a club for such a long time, whenever they leave it is best to try and change as few things as possible,” he concluded.
“I think they [the City board] feel the same way because they are going for someone from Pep’s school of coaching.
“For Maresca, he has already been at the mad house that is Chelsea, took a few hits but from his point of view, whatever environment you go into will have a bit more stability. He will know a few of the players so I think it is a good fit.
“I worry a bit because City fans are so used to Pep, the best manager we have ever seen, so it is big shoes to fill. It might take a bit of time to get his style across to the players and if that does happen, I would hope the fans do not turn against him.
“But I think he will do well and I hope he does well because from a working relationship I had with him, I do like him and I think he came out of the whole Chelsea situation very well.”