Enzo Maresca New Leicester Manager

[AjcW]

23 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/06/21/enzo-maresca-interview-why-i-quit-man-city-for-leicester/
 

Enzo Maresca interview: Why I quit Man City for Leicester

 

Enzo Maresca wants Jamie Vardy to stay at Leicester and spearhead the club’s attempt to return to the Premier League.

 

In his first interview since being appointed Leicester manager, Maresca has spelled out his plan for the relegated club and told how they convinced him to take the job in the middle of Manchester City’s wild treble celebrations.

 

The Italian, a City coach last season, also paid tribute to “genius” Pep Guardiola.

 

But it is the clarity on the future of Vardy, the 36-year-old striker who scored just three league goals last season, which is likely to make waves among Leicester fans.

 

“He’ll be staying with us yes,” Maresca told Telegraph Sport. “That’s what we’re currently doing, looking at the squad and planning for next season.”

 

That it is Maresca making those plans has raised eyebrows. A key member of Guardiola’s coaching staff, he was last seen in those heady days after City won the Champions League final, embracing Jack Grealish on the flight home.

 

Now, his next act in football will be to take his place in the away dugout in a pre-season friendly at Northampton Town.

 

Maresca, though, is adamant that the Championship is not a step down - not when he is fulfilling his ambition of becoming a manager. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” he says.

 

He may not yet be a household name, but Maresca has served his time. An assistant to Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham, he worked with City youth teams before a spell at Parma.

 

Last season, Guardiola head-hunted him for a first-team job, which Maresca accepted — with a caveat. “From the very first moment Pep knew that I really wanted to go on to be a manager,” Maresca says. “He knew that I think he is the best coach in the world and that I went there to help and work with him. But he always encouraged me to keep progressing.”

 

His promotion may have even come sooner, had Leicester got their way. Following the dismissal of Brendan Rodgers, an approach was made to prise him out of the Etihad. But with the treble on the line, Maresca made them wait.

 

“We were involved in playing so many games in all the different competitions,” he adds. “I left everything to one side until after the Champions League final.”

 

Then relegation followed, Dean Smith departed and the job became vacant again. This time, as Maresca celebrated City’s Istanbul triumph, he was in no mood to hang around.

 

The reality for Maresca, though, is this: he is inheriting a Leicester side that has been in steady decline for several years. In Youri Tielemans, they have lost one of their best players and are highly likely to see James Maddison and Harvey Barnes follow him out of the club.

 

This is not a straightforward rebuild, particularly for a rookie — even for a man with a CV as impressive as Maresca. Given the upheaval, can Leicester really bounce back at the first time of asking? “Yes, it’s the one and only objective,” Maresca insists. “While being aware that we have to change a lot of players, a lot of whom have been very key players while representing the club in recent times.

 

“First and foremost, we have to try and build and put together a good team and from then on, we can see how much we can achieve with it.”

 

Maresca is an exciting appointment, in part because he has studied under Guardiola, the man who has shaped modern English football more than anybody — an apprenticeship that he calls “a continuous learning process, every single day”.

 

And even though Maresca tries to play down how feasible it is that Leicester will copy the City model lock, stock and barrel — “it is impossible because first of all, City have got Pep, and no-one has a manager like him” — you feel that Enzo-ball will have more than a passing resemblance to the ideals impressed on him by Guardiola.

 

He talks about “playing well”, a phrase often used by Guardiola to describe not just beautiful but also functional football, and he subscribes to the Catalan’s beliefs on positional discipline.

 

“The most important thing at the beginning is to get the players to understand exactly where they need to be, the positions they need to take up on the pitch,” he says. “A lot of the time they don’t need to be moving around so much, and often it’s much more important to stay still in the same position than to be running around so much.

 

“And this is something that you need to put in place because it’s not so easy.”

 

As a former City youth coach, Maresca also comes with an impressive contacts book and is likely to be front of the queue when it comes to loan deals for the next generation of talent. “One or two of them would do us nicely!” he laughs.

 

“City really do have a lot of young players that I know very well, having worked with them at under-23 level and coached there this season. Top quality players, but it wouldn’t be right to mention any names just at the moment because the lads will be away on holiday and maybe thinking about what’s next for them.”

 

Conversation leads back to the treble, as it inevitably will for the first of Guardiola’s Class of ’23 to strike off and try his luck somewhere else.

 

You may have seen that picture of Grealish, whose celebrations captured public imagination more than anybody, gleefully hugging Maresca.

 

This is a man who had a front row seat to the biggest celebration seen in English football for years. “We were partying for a few days,” Maresca reveals. Which means… you kept pace with Jack Grealish? “I wouldn’t be able to do that! I don’t have as much staying power as that!”

Some interesting bits in here for sure!

The approach after BR went makes me think Glover is having a lot more say in manager selection than we perhaps thought.

[jv1]

24 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/06/21/enzo-maresca-interview-why-i-quit-man-city-for-leicester/
 

Enzo Maresca interview: Why I quit Man City for Leicester

 

Enzo Maresca wants Jamie Vardy to stay at Leicester and spearhead the club’s attempt to return to the Premier League.

 

In his first interview since being appointed Leicester manager, Maresca has spelled out his plan for the relegated club and told how they convinced him to take the job in the middle of Manchester City’s wild treble celebrations.

 

The Italian, a City coach last season, also paid tribute to “genius” Pep Guardiola.

 

But it is the clarity on the future of Vardy, the 36-year-old striker who scored just three league goals last season, which is likely to make waves among Leicester fans.

 

“He’ll be staying with us yes,” Maresca told Telegraph Sport. “That’s what we’re currently doing, looking at the squad and planning for next season.”

 

That it is Maresca making those plans has raised eyebrows. A key member of Guardiola’s coaching staff, he was last seen in those heady days after City won the Champions League final, embracing Jack Grealish on the flight home.

 

Now, his next act in football will be to take his place in the away dugout in a pre-season friendly at Northampton Town.

 

Maresca, though, is adamant that the Championship is not a step down - not when he is fulfilling his ambition of becoming a manager. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” he says.

 

He may not yet be a household name, but Maresca has served his time. An assistant to Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham, he worked with City youth teams before a spell at Parma.

 

Last season, Guardiola head-hunted him for a first-team job, which Maresca accepted — with a caveat. “From the very first moment Pep knew that I really wanted to go on to be a manager,” Maresca says. “He knew that I think he is the best coach in the world and that I went there to help and work with him. But he always encouraged me to keep progressing.”

 

His promotion may have even come sooner, had Leicester got their way. Following the dismissal of Brendan Rodgers, an approach was made to prise him out of the Etihad. But with the treble on the line, Maresca made them wait.

 

“We were involved in playing so many games in all the different competitions,” he adds. “I left everything to one side until after the Champions League final.”

 

Then relegation followed, Dean Smith departed and the job became vacant again. This time, as Maresca celebrated City’s Istanbul triumph, he was in no mood to hang around.

 

The reality for Maresca, though, is this: he is inheriting a Leicester side that has been in steady decline for several years. In Youri Tielemans, they have lost one of their best players and are highly likely to see James Maddison and Harvey Barnes follow him out of the club.

 

This is not a straightforward rebuild, particularly for a rookie — even for a man with a CV as impressive as Maresca. Given the upheaval, can Leicester really bounce back at the first time of asking? “Yes, it’s the one and only objective,” Maresca insists. “While being aware that we have to change a lot of players, a lot of whom have been very key players while representing the club in recent times.

 

“First and foremost, we have to try and build and put together a good team and from then on, we can see how much we can achieve with it.”

 

Maresca is an exciting appointment, in part because he has studied under Guardiola, the man who has shaped modern English football more than anybody — an apprenticeship that he calls “a continuous learning process, every single day”.

 

And even though Maresca tries to play down how feasible it is that Leicester will copy the City model lock, stock and barrel — “it is impossible because first of all, City have got Pep, and no-one has a manager like him” — you feel that Enzo-ball will have more than a passing resemblance to the ideals impressed on him by Guardiola.

 

He talks about “playing well”, a phrase often used by Guardiola to describe not just beautiful but also functional football, and he subscribes to the Catalan’s beliefs on positional discipline.

 

“The most important thing at the beginning is to get the players to understand exactly where they need to be, the positions they need to take up on the pitch,” he says. “A lot of the time they don’t need to be moving around so much, and often it’s much more important to stay still in the same position than to be running around so much.

 

“And this is something that you need to put in place because it’s not so easy.”

 

As a former City youth coach, Maresca also comes with an impressive contacts book and is likely to be front of the queue when it comes to loan deals for the next generation of talent. “One or two of them would do us nicely!” he laughs.

 

“City really do have a lot of young players that I know very well, having worked with them at under-23 level and coached there this season. Top quality players, but it wouldn’t be right to mention any names just at the moment because the lads will be away on holiday and maybe thinking about what’s next for them.”

 

Conversation leads back to the treble, as it inevitably will for the first of Guardiola’s Class of ’23 to strike off and try his luck somewhere else.

 

You may have seen that picture of Grealish, whose celebrations captured public imagination more than anybody, gleefully hugging Maresca.

 

This is a man who had a front row seat to the biggest celebration seen in English football for years. “We were partying for a few days,” Maresca reveals. Which means… you kept pace with Jack Grealish? “I wouldn’t be able to do that! I don’t have as much staying power as that!”

lovely- exactly what I want to hear- nothing but positives in here- he knows it wont be easy but at least he knows what he wants to do- exciting

[The Doctor]

5 hours ago, Dan LCFC said:

That analogy doesn't really work because their jobs are in a similar line to the ones they stood in for. They're not accountants in this instance, it would be being asked to paint the wall green then splodging it with a load of yellow and pink. Anybody on here who posted that XI before Bournemouth would've been laughed out of the thread. I'm not strongly for or against them but the Bournemouth XI was a major red flag, it was absolute lunacy.

Not really. Goalkeeping coaches and analysts are not tacticians, there's a degree of interlinking (the GK coach should be able to communicate the tactical impact on the keeper, the analyst should be able to interpret the impact of a tactical change on the performances) but it's not particularly similar to their job

[The Doctor]

17 minutes ago, lcfcsnow said:

I don’t know but this just sounds like it’s going to be a walking mans version of Man City but it’ll be like when they’re dull to watch and just passing for passing sake as we won’t have the players to make the difference that they do

Eh, if you're positioning is right you should rarely have to run. Maldini was the prime example of this, never really broke into a sprint because he was already in the right place for the interception/tackle. Last season we had Ward, Faes, Amartey, Tielemans and Soumare as a spine who didn't know where they were, let alone where they should be. Two are gone, I'd be amazed if the remaining three are all here and regulars next season. Theres a perfect opportunity to rebuild, and the man city style of basically 2-3-5 when in possession, overload and press high is really good to watch

[volpeazzurro]

31 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

Not really. Goalkeeping coaches and analysts are not tacticians, there's a degree of interlinking (the GK coach should be able to communicate the tactical impact on the keeper, the analyst should be able to interpret the impact of a tactical change on the performances) but it's not particularly similar to their job

True to a certain extent only because probably the majority of supporters in the stands could have worked out that, if you continue in the way that got you in that mess in the first place, things ain't gonna change!!

 

They presided over their games like a couple of dunderhead clueless halfwits! There should be no hint of a trace of their coaching methods or ways. Professional standards had completely dropped also and they should be got rid of asap. Clean sweep!

[coolhandfox]

Interesting and encouraging we were interested last season.

 

It feels like there is a plan in place which is good. 

[Spudulike]

Liking that we have a fiercely ambitious manager who really wants to be here. 

 

"Given the upheaval, can Leicester really bounce back at the first time of asking? “Yes, it’s the one and only objecive"

[StanSP]

Just feels so refreshing reading that. Come in with a vision and stick to it, an actual philosophy built with success of the team in mind, as opposed to himself first.

 

Promotion being 'the one and only objective'. That's all that matters. 

[mod hero]

1 hour ago, lcfcsnow said:

I don’t know but this just sounds like it’s going to be a walking mans version of Man City but it’ll be like when they’re dull to watch and just passing for passing sake as we won’t have the players to make the difference that they do

Let’s see who we sign first mate. Hopefully we get the recruitment right and kick on.

[coolhandfox]

58 minutes ago, AjcW said:

He talks about “playing well”, a phrase often used by Guardiola to describe not just beautiful but also functional football, and he subscribes to the Catalan’s beliefs on positional discipline.

 

“The most important thing at the beginning is to get the players to understand exactly where they need to be, the positions they need to take up on the pitch,” he says. “A lot of the time they don’t need to be moving around so much, and often it’s much more important to stay still in the same position than to be running around so much

We had so little structure last year and looked so disorganised, so good to hear.  

[StanSP]

As a former City youth coach, Maresca also comes with an impressive contacts book and is likely to be front of the queue when it comes to loan deals for the next generation of talent. “One or two of them would do us nicely!” he laughs.

 

Good, Enzo. Get them sorted early! 

[Matt]

1 hour ago, lcfcsnow said:

I don’t know but this just sounds like it’s going to be a walking mans version of Man City but it’ll be like when they’re dull to watch and just passing for passing sake as we won’t have the players to make the difference that they do

That’s the concern.

 

 

However, even if basing it off a headline, this sounds promising.

 

Hopefully he’s his own man.

[Happy Fox]

Maresca would know we need to play with intensity and high press, sign a high energy central midfielder and winger or two and watch us fly up the league.

[Ric Flair]

20 minutes ago, lcfcsnow said:

I don’t know but this just sounds like it’s going to be a walking mans version of Man City but it’ll be like when they’re dull to watch and just passing for passing sake as we won’t have the players to make the difference that they do

On the face of it, this does sound like potential recipe for disaster. But like with anything, if you are implementing a certain style, then you have to be able to execute it successfully and/or be flexible to change it if it doesn't work more often than not. 

 

Man City might be positional strong but they also swarm all over the pitch and others drop in.

[indierich06]

I have to say, all of this is music to my ears. Really think we could be at the start of something special here. It's encouraging to hear that we were actively looking at Maresca prior to the Smith appointment too.

[Merchant_Banker]

Sounds like a combination of Pep-ball and a solid Italian defence! 

[VinceNoir]

All the suggested chants (apart from the car one) are cute but, let’s face it, it’ll end up being one of the following two:

 

ohhh enzo maresca (seven nation army) 

the ranieri one 

[Uncle Monty]

40 minutes ago, Happy Fox said:

Maresca would know we need to play with intensity and high press, sign a high energy central midfielder and winger or two and watch us fly up the league.

KDH?

[StriderHiryu]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

That’s the concern.

 

However, even if basing it off a headline, this sounds promising.

 

Hopefully he’s his own man.

Pep himself last season ditched the false 9 and went more direct with Haaland. Initially though he scored goals, the team was off worse, but he stuck with it and they won the treble. Over the years Man City have also gotten more and more physical, they have some right units in that team now.

 

"While there was certainly the determination to play out from the back and to build the play, moving the ball to create opportunities and break defensive lines, the Manchester City kids also showed that when they found that opening, the pace of the game instantly sped up."

 

So I wouldn't worry too much about just passing for passing's sake. I think initially there will be a some of that, but that's because it takes time to learn a system. In pre-season especially it wouldn't surprise me if there are spells where the team look utterly clueless. But if you give him time, we should see the improvement.

 

AC Milan in the 90's appointed Arigo Saachi, who also used a pressing system. He had at his disposal Van Basten, Rijkard and Gullit, but initially they all thought his tactical ideas were crazy. "He's either a genius or an idiot" is what Van Basten said about him. They struggled for a few months, but then all of a sudden... they took off and never looked back.

 

The test will be if we are not doing well after a few months, will the fans and the board have the patience? But it could also be a Kompany situation where we hit the ground running pretty quickly too.

 

 

 

Edited 21 June 2023 by StriderHiryu

[Leicesterpool]

Say first game of the season is up Huddersfield at home, lose 0-3 how would you feel?

 

A) Oh god we're in trouble, double relegation.

B) We want Enzo out!

C) Only game one should be fine, just a disappointing start in Enzo we trust. Sure it'll be better next week.

 

[Bluearmyfox28]

1 hour ago, Uncle Monty said:

KDH?

Was literally thinking whilst reading the article that KDH is going to shine under Enzo.

[StriderHiryu]

1 minute ago, Leicesterpool said:

Say first game of the season is up Huddersfield at home, lose 0-3 how would you feel?

 

A) Oh god we're in trouble, double relegation.

B) We want Enzo out!

C) Only game one should be fine, just a disappointing start in Enzo we trust. Sure it'll be better next week.

 

Personally I wouldn't make any judgements will we have played 10 league games of the season. I wouldn't expect us to be the finished article after that time, but hopefully we are seeing good performances. Results can wait if I see the team trying and playing well.

 

Last season after 10 games... we were bottom. Which, is why the alarm bells were going off. 

 

Whilst I'd love us to get promoted, if there were clear signs of playing good stuff but we weren't getting the results I would be OK with it, expecting a bigger push the following year. 

 

I'd ask a different question to you. What would you say if after 10 games we are top of the table, but we are playing crap and only winning through luck / individual brilliance?

[Leicesterpool]

8 minutes ago, StriderHiryu said:

Personally I wouldn't make any judgements will we have played 10 league games of the season. I wouldn't expect us to be the finished article after that time, but hopefully we are seeing good performances. Results can wait if I see the team trying and playing well.

 

Last season after 10 games... we were bottom. Which, is why the alarm bells were going off. 

 

Whilst I'd love us to get promoted, if there were clear signs of playing good stuff but we weren't getting the results I would be OK with it, expecting a bigger push the following year. 

 

I'd ask a different question to you. What would you say if after 10 games we are top of the table, but we are playing crap and only winning through luck / individual brilliance?

If your winning games without being pretty then he's doing nothing wrong, in other words he's done the job is suppose to be doing. It's okay playing attractive but if it's not getting results... then it's pointless. 

[The Doctor]

10 minutes ago, Leicesterpool said:

If your winning games without being pretty then he's doing nothing wrong, in other words he's done the job is suppose to be doing. It's okay playing attractive but if it's not getting results... then it's pointless. 

Playing crap and without playing pretty are too different things. The question is if we're putting in shite performances but getting results through luck or moments of magic, the sort of thing which is unsustainable and clearly telegraphed our downfall under Rodgers well before the results went

[Gamble92]

1 hour ago, VinceNoir said:

All the suggested chants (apart from the car one) are cute but, let’s face it, it’ll end up being one of the following two:

 

ohhh enzo maresca (seven nation army) 

the ranieri one 

Let's hope it's any of these and not "you don't know what you're doing" or "you're just a shit Guardiola"