Enzo Maresca began his first press conference as Manchester City manager with an unsolicited tribute to Kevin Keegan, who died on Monday, but quickly turned to the elephant in the room: following Pep Guardiola. “The history of the manager with many years in the same club always struggled a little bit. After Sir Alex, after Arsène,” said the 46-year-old Italian, sat on the dais Guardiola occupied for 10 trophy-laden years. “But also, it’s a challenge to try to do the right things immediately for this organisation, for the fans, for everyone.”
Maresca, who previously led City’s elite development squad in 2020-21 and served as Guardiola’s assistant during the treble-winning 2022-23 season, was welcomed back with a giant “Welcome back Enzo” billboard. He acknowledged the task ahead by pointing to City’s unusual stability: three managers in 17 years – Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Guardiola. “This is not normal, so this is one of the things that I’m confident we can do a great job and continue to do the job that has been done in the last years,” he said.
“Maresca compares task to following Ferguson and Wenger as City start post-Guardiola era with Bournemouth match.”
That job begins at home to Bournemouth on Sunday 23 August, as confirmed by the Premier League fixture list released last month. The match marks City’s first competitive game since Guardiola’s departure and comes on an opening weekend that also sees Andoni Iraola take Liverpool to Newcastle for his debut, and new champions Arsenal host Coventry on the Friday night. Coventry begin their first top-flight campaign in 25 years; Hull, promoted alongside them, welcome Manchester United on the Saturday.
Maresca’s reference to Ferguson and Wenger showed he understands the scale of what is required. “After Sir Alex, after Arsène,” he repeated, invoking the struggles of Manchester United and Arsenal after their legendary managers stepped aside. Whether City’s board show similar patience remains to be seen – but the Italian is counting on it.
