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Maresca, City and the shadow of Guardiola
This season will be a challenge at a club whose bar for success has been pushed to great heights by Pep
Mumbai: The Etihad Stadium has had some work done over the off-season. The North Stand in particular received much attention. An additional 7,000 seats were fitted in. And once the work was complete, the section had been rebranded the ‘Pep Guardiola Stand.’
Some proposed changes are still in progress, including a statue of Guardiola.
These are the tributes the club bestowed upon its greatest manager, who stepped down from his post at the end of last season after 10 years at the helm.
Under the 55-year-old Spaniard’s charge, City won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups, three Community Shields, the Champions League in 2022-23, the UEFA Super Cup in 2023 and the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.
It is into the shadow of such a prominent figure at Manchester City, and in world football, that 46-year-old Enzo Maresca steps as the club’s new manager.
“It’s fantastic, nice and exciting, and for me, a privilege,” Maresca said, as quoted by The Guardian.
More than anything though, this will be a challenge at a club whose bar for success has been pushed to great heights by Guardiola. This is especially true given that City are going through a phase of transition.
A number of key players have moved on, starting with the star-midfielder Rodri, who captained Spain to the World Cup title last month.
Rodri’s performance in the United States earned him the Golden Ball Award and may put him in with a good chance of winning his second Ballon d’Or. His departure to Barcelona will leave a big void in the midfield.
Then there are the departures of John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Bernardo Silva.
So far, City have managed to secure the services of Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, who came in for a club-record £116 million. That’s a big price tag for a 23-year-old who will be expected to fill Rodri’s role. Anderson did show he is capable of putting in those performances after impressing with England during the World Cup.
Also on the radar is Argentina’s wantaway Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea, but there is a chance that City will need to break the bank once again. The West London club has reportedly set an asking price of £120 million for the midfielder, if he is to reunite with Maresca.
The City midfield has also been bolstered by the arrival of Ayyoub Bouaddi, an 18-year-old Moroccan who dictated play for his team against Brazil at the World Cup.
This is not to say that City does not already have strong players in the ranks. The trickery Rayan Cherki is there, as is the flair of Omar Marmoush.
And with Maresca – a manger who likes his wingers to run wide and deep – Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo would relish the opportunity.
One who may benefit the most from that wing-play is a certain Erling Haaland.
Having ended last season as City’s premier striker, capable of scoring goals from all angles, he returns for the new season as a cult hero. His exploits at the World Cup with Norway, which saw him score seven goals and take his team to a first quarterfinal, earned him favour among football fans. It also saw Haaland turn into an internet sensation and a meme favourite.
The direct approach City might employ under Maresca seems to be tailor-made for Haaland.
There will also be some expectations from Phil Foden. Once a star midfielder under Guardiola, he has been a shadow of himself in the past few seasons. But as Maresca looks to rebuild the midfield, Foden might be keen to make his mark for the new manager.
This has been a period of transition City has not seen in a decade. But Maresca taking over after Guardiola does have a certain symmetry to it. After all, Maresca was Guardiola’s assistant during the treble-winning campaign of 2022-23.
Maresca also guided City’s U-23 team to the Premier League’s developmental league title in 2020-21, before helping Leicester City win the EPL Championship in 2023-24.
At Chelsea, he helped the London-club win the Conference League in 2024-25, followed by the Club World Cup in 2025.
His first assignment for City however, did not go according to plan, as the team was beaten 3-0 by Arsenal at the end of an underwhelming performance in the Community Shield last week.
Not much should be read from that one-off match however, as the new Premier League season ushers in a new period of English football.
This will be the first time since the 1985-86 season in which England’s top-tier of football does not have a team managed by Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp and Guardiola – winners of 26 of the Premier League’s 34 seasons.
Could Maresca etch his own name to Premier League history?
