Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca sat down with the club's media channels to conduct his first Manchester City interview
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New Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca is excited to get started at the Etihad with the Italian now confirmed as the club's new manager.
He has signed a three-year contract with City to succeed Pep Guardiola as Blues boss. It will be a third stint for Maresca, who coached City's Under-21 side to a league title in his first spell and was then part of the coaching staff for the Treble campaign in 2023.
And the 46-year-old is determined to keep the good times coming at City as he settles into his new role. Here's every word from the new Blues boss after he sat down with club media channels.
On becoming manager of Manchester City...
“First of all, thank you. As you said, this is the third time – hopefully it’s the last time I come back and I don’t leave anymore. I’m very excited, very excited for many reasons. The first one is how big the Club is, so this for sure has been one of the reasons why.”
On the challenge...
“It’s a huge challenge, for many reasons. All the success over the last 10 to 15 years, but at the same moment it’s a nice challenge. It’s exciting because the target is to continue or carry on the last decade or the last years that everything was very nice.”
On his character and attributes...
“You are going to discover a little bit. Probably the reason why I’m here is also because the idea from the Club is to maintain the same style of football, the same idea and we’re going to try to do the most important thing in football which is try to win, to achieve important things. Then the day-by-day is also going to dictate the way I will work.”
On his previous experiences at Manchester City helping him from day one...
“Absolutely, yes. It’s much easier when you join a club or a place where you already connect with the people and know already the people inside the building. I know most of the people in terms of squad, in terms of players I probably will find four or five players from the season the last time I was here. But I think it’s much easier for me, but for any manager to join a club where you already know people. The leadership group and players and people inside the building.”
On City being one of the best clubs in the world...
“It’s a main thing. When you have all these three – the Club, the manager and the players. I think it’s much easier for everyone working around that, to achieve something important. Also, what the Club achieved in the last years shows that probably the way they are working is the correct way.”
On his assessment of the current squad...
“Yes it’s a young squad, but it’s a very good squad. I think also we have the right mix between young players and more experienced players which helps the young ones a lot to grow and improve.”
On potential additions to the squad...
“The squad is already good, for sure. We need to do some things, but we are working with Hugo and we will see.”
On the quality that the Academy continues to produce...
“I think in the last, I’m not sure exactly how many years, but also when I was here with the EDS, most of that squad, most of those players are all Premier League players or almost all of them. The way they are working and the methodology they use in the last years also helps the young players to develop in the right way. With younger players, you need also to be a little bit brave to give them an opportunity and we will continue to do that.”
On his philosophy and style...
“The idea I said from the Club is to continue to maintain the same style of football that City had in the last years, so we’re going to try to do that. Also, because it’s the way I like to work. The idea is to continue as much as we can to dominate games, to play in the opposite side, be aggressive off the ball and with intention on the ball.”
On his memories of the Treble season...
“It was an incredible season for many reasons. For the trophies the Club achieved, but also for the entire experience. I still remember the last part of the season, the games at home against Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Liverpool, the way the fans tried to push the team. The environment inside the stadium, that was unbelievable. Then, the season finished in a great way. The parade with all the blue city - that was a fantastic feeling. That was an important journey for sure.”
On how the Premier League has changed since his playing days...
“It has completely changed. From my point of view, it’s different football because everything evolves. So also in football with all the analysis that you can do about teams and players. It’s much easier to find solutions against teams which is why as a manager you need to evolve, to change things, otherwise if you continue to do the same things, they will find a solution and it’s more difficult. But no doubt that in the last 20 years football has completely changed.”
On how the managers he played under helped influence his game...
“Absolutely. I think that during the experience as a player, you try to take all the best things from all the managers. For sure, for me, it has been – I feel like I’ve been lucky working and sharing time with the managers you’ve just mentioned [Ancelotti, Lippi, Pellegrini] because they showed during the seasons and years how good they have been and they are also all different. Lippi in terms of leadership was fantastic, Ancelotti in terms of calming down and also he’s a top manager so I feel quite lucky.”
On what he’s most looking forward to returning to Manchester City...
“This also shows that me, but in general, my family, that we like a lot Manchester as a city. We feel very good in the two years we spent here with the kids, with everyone, so the idea is to continue to enjoy the city and to find a good moment where we can also spend time with City.”
On getting started and seeing the fans at the Etihad...
“I feel so excited. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, I remember the environment in that game – Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid. The environment, the way they pushed the team was absolutely top. I have no doubts that they are going to support the team and support the new manager, after 10 years with Pep with the same manager. No doubt everything will be good.”