Enzo Maresca reveals what both Leicester and Chelsea told him about Manchester City

Manchester City’s style of play and replicating the systems implemented by Pep Guardiola were demanded from Enzo Maresca by both Leicester City and Chelsea.

The Italian head coach has endured a meteoric rise within his own managerial career in English football, having left Manchester City following the conclusion of the Treble-winning season of 2022/23.

Joining Leicester City in their hunt for an immediate return to Premier League football in the 2023/24 campaign, Maresca successfully put his own stamp on the King Power Stadium squad, recording promotion and the Championship crown in the same season.

That success in England’s second division caught the eyes of many clubs in the Premier League, with both Manchester United and Chelsea showing interest, and the latter becoming the side to come out on top.

But now, speaking during a recent conversation Stateside, Enzo Maresca has revealed the clear demands made of him at both of his club jobs in English football directly relating to the success and style of play implemented by Pep Guardiola.

Speaking to the media during Chelsea’s pre-season schedule in the United States, new manager Enzo Maresca has revealed that both Leicester City and his current employers Stamford Bridge have wanted him to replicate Manchester City’s style of play.

“When I joined Leicester and met the chairman and sporting director, they said, ‘We want to play the same way that City play.’ I told them, ‘We don’t have the same players, and I am not the same manager,'” Maresca revealed, as relayed by MailSport.

“The same thing when I met Chelsea. I said, ‘The idea is that idea, but probably we need time because the players also need to understand what way we want to play and it’s different.’ This is something I struggle a little bit with.

“’Because he’s bald and with a beard, he wants to play the same.’ No, I don’t. I fell in love with that idea, but that does not mean it is exactly the same.”

Enzo Maresca is the latest in a long list of coaches and players to have made strides into the senior men’s football management world following experiences working alongside Pep Guardiola at Manchester City in recent years.

Other names to have made successes of their managerial careers post-Pep Guardiola include the likes of Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, who worked closely with the Catalan boss at Manchester City during his opening campaigns in English football.

Former City captain Vincent Kompany has also seen a meteoric rise in the game, developing from coach at RSC Anderlecht, to recording a 100-point Championship season with Burnley, before taking the top job at Bayern Munich after relegation with the Clarets last season.