Succeeding Guardiola At Man City Privilege, Not Pressure – Maresca

New Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has said he does not feel under pressure being compared to his predecessor, Pep Guardiola, insisting that early-season results will not define his tenure at the club.

Maresca, who returned to City as head coach after serving as Guardiola’s assistant during the club’s treble-winning 2022-23 campaign, spoke to UK-based reporters in Seoul as his first pre-season in charge draws to a close.

“After 10 games, if we have got 10 points, 20 points, 30 points. People will be comparing it to Pep after 10 games, it doesn’t put pressure on me,” he said.

Guardiola led City to 17 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and a Champions League crown, before stepping down at the end of last season. Maresca described him as the standout coach of his generation.

“I have said many times while I was at Leicester or Chelsea, he is the best manager in the world over the last 15 or 20 years,” he said, adding that Guardiola’s influence had shaped footballing trends everywhere he coached, from Barcelona to Bayern Munich to Manchester City.

On the scale of the task ahead of him, Maresca said: “Someone asked me if it’s impossible job to follow him — maybe, but at the same time it’s a privilege.”

He said he met Guardiola in Barcelona shortly before his appointment was confirmed, describing the exchange as useful.

“We spent some hours together,” he said. “We had planned before the season finished here to spend some time in the summer holidays together.”

He added: “I like to go in empty sometimes to see things for myself — but he was here so long, he has his opinions. But also you have to arrive and see things for yourself, see all the picture.”

As a symbolic shift, Maresca has moved into the office of former Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders at City’s training base, next to Guardiola’s old office, now converted into a meeting room.

He also apologised earlier this year to former club Chelsea over the disruption caused by his mid-season exit.

On how he spent the months before joining City, he said: “I tried to enjoy a little bit more [time] with the family,” referring to his wife and four children, adding that he also completed two courses on artificial intelligence “to understand it a little bit more and have more knowledge.”

On football, Maresca identified the growing use of set-pieces and man-marking as the biggest tactical shift in the Premier League since he last worked in England three years ago, citing Arsenal’s title-winning reliance on corners as an area City hope to improve.

He maintained that the Premier League remains the strongest league in world football.

“It is because of the quality of the players, the quality of the managers, the organisation of the Premier League. It is completely different compared to other countries,” he said.

“Which league can compete with the Premier League? Spain? Barcelona, Real Madrid, yes, but then the rest is not the same. You have six teams here who are more or less there.”

On lighter matters, Maresca confirmed he did not take part in the traditional player-led initiation song, joking that “the manager doesn’t sing.”

He praised goalkeeping coach Michele de Bernardin’s singing as “very good,” while dismissing analyst Javi Molina’s attempt at Frank Sinatra’s My Way as “the worst,” adding: “it was a disaster.”

He also spoke warmly of first-team coach Danny Walker, who has worked with him since their days together in City’s academy setup and followed him to both Leicester and Chelsea.

“We go for breakfast it is beans on toast, we go for dinner it is a beer,” Maresca said, crediting Walker with deep knowledge of players such as Nico O’Reilly and Rico Lewis.

“It is demanding. If we don’t win games, we are all going home,” he added.

On leadership, Maresca said he would personally select City’s new captain following Bernardo Silva’s departure, expressing a preference for a homegrown player within the leadership group, which currently includes Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland and Rodri.

Asked whether Haaland was a leading contender, he said: “Erling was one of the first to send a message when I joined the club,” before explaining a rule he enforces around goal celebrations.

“At Leicester and Chelsea I had a rule that when we scored the captain had to come to the bench, not to celebrate, but for instructions. But if he scores, then he can celebrate. If Erling is the captain, we have a problem, can you imagine?”

He gave no firm indication of who would eventually take the armband, saying it would depend on developments within the squad, including Rodri’s situation following interest from Barcelona.

“At the moment, we have three or four [in the leadership group] and we are missing one. In the case of Rodri, see what happens,” he said.