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A look at behind the scenes of the Manchester City camp during their pre-season tour to Asia with new coach Enzo Maresca
Inside Manchester City's trip to Asia
Inside Manchester City's trip to Asia
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As the winds of change sweep across Manchester City, Enzo Maresca was grateful for a more literal breeze on Saturday. As his players trained ahead of their final friendly of the pre-season tour, the temperature finally dropped as cool air blew into their faces for the first time since they had landed on Tuesday.
Up to that point, the heat had been obscene - enough to soak you standing still in the shade. It is hard to describe the conditions for the K-League All Stars game on Wednesday as in any way acceptable given the temperature felt like 45 degrees at 8pm; one player described it as 'unbearable'.
The small group of UK journalists who have followed City on the trip wearily trudged in to the press conference room from that game, only to find lots of local media already there. They didn't see the reward in going out into such a furnace when they could watch the game on a TV while surrounded by air conditioning.
Some things have been worth going out for though. Ruben Dias could not resist some sightseeing as he visited Gyeongbokgung Palace by the team hotel, and there were queues of more than three hours in the afternoon and evenings for supporters to enter the bespoke pop-up store hosted by City and Puma in Seongsu.
The shop was filled with a drinks collaboration with Manchester bar Schofields, along with a nail bar, portraits of all the City players wearing traditional Korea attire and - of course - lots of opportunities to buy things. Speeding up sales was a sheet of all the things available to buy, meaning fans could just tick everything they wanted and hand it over to a counter so that their money could be counted and printed.
There was a buzz around that place all week, and back with the players Maresca never let the energy drop. He has been extremely hands-on in training as he tries to get his ideas across, working up as big a sweat as his squad as he runs the drills with them to ensure they are getting the concepts that he wants to bring in.
Maresca has arrived at City with the confidence of a man who has already enjoyed a number of experiences in his coaching career, and he was fortunate enough to be with the Blues when the bonding they did on a summer tour set them up for greatness.
"It is nice to get out of the hotel room and just have a walk sometimes to clear your mind because they are long trips," says former City goalkeeper Scott Carson.
"I remember quite a few pre-seasons that we had at City and it's a perfect way to get all the lads together - especially on a day off where you try and get most of the lads together and go off somewhere and try to get a bite to eat and let your hair down. In the Treble season, we were still talking about [the pre-season in] America months and months after. It just brought everyone together.
"I think it was in Houston, and Erling (Haaland) had just come in so there was as big boost. Normally you get two or three but for that one everyone was together, everyone was sitting down after dinner and having a laugh and sticking together. Looking back, that was a big key part of that season."
Maresca will remember that magic and, while he hasn't been able to have several of his best players given they are still resting up after extending their season all the way to the last bits of the World Cup, the new manager has made it a welcoming place. Pep Guardiola was fiercely protective of the first-team environment and made sure the shop was small and closed off.
In contrast, Maresca was warmly introducing himself to City staff on the plane over to Hong Kong and made sure that several of them were included in the initiation songs that went on in the team hotels to break the ice. Some who were asked to do it have even been part of the first-team set-up for years, it did just not necessarily feel like that under Guardiola.
Across an hour with journalists in Seoul (and an hour more than the previous manager gave in 10 years) Maresca shows the personality that doesn't necessarily come out in press conferences but is a big reason why players wherever he has been before have shown huge loyalty to him. The Italian is clear and focused about the work that he expects, but puts the effort in to show that he is working as hard as anybody else and is quick to make everyone feel comfortable; as Abdukodir Khusanov smashed his penalty against the post for the second of three dismal spot-kicks against Inter in Hong Kong, Maresca was chuckling on the touchline.
Hong Kong was more relaxed than Seoul in the sense that it was significantly cooler, even if it barely stopped raining. Players spent most of their free time there together exploring the luxury shopping malls located underneath their team hotel, although Phil Foden popped out one afternoon and signed something for every one of the hundreds of fans that were waiting outside for a glimpse of the superstars.
Foden was the baby of the squad when City travelled to Hong Kong seven years ago but returned as one of the most senior and famous faces in the group. "All my team-mates have left me! That is what's different," he joked with reporters.
"It's obviously massively different now. I'm one of the most experienced in the team and, playing in a lot of important games, won a lot of trophies, so a lot of things have changed. It is down to me now to try and help the young ones out when they're here and try and be a leader almost in the team."
Foden has not been the only good influence, with Antoine Semenyo advising the younger players on how they should act around the squad to make a good impression on everyone they come into contact with. And while the weather limited the visibility of City's trip, they found ways to grab local attention in other ways with a kit launch on a floating pitch in Victoria Harbour and a number of collaborations with local artists.
There were four-hour queues to get into the Puma store near the Kai Tak Stadium while City were there as fans flocked to buy the kit with a bespoke font on the back designed by Hong Kong street artist Off God:Tate, and the club enjoyed their most successful match sales day in the country. There were anywhere from dozens to hundreds of fans at all times of day camped outside the team hotel, while City legend David Silva entertained invited guests as well as Maresca at a private function.
In both countries, City put in the effort to please locals and they did so with a smile on their faces. That sounds like a small thing, yet it definitely hasn't always been the case on previous trips given the difficulties around conditions and jet lag.
As the Blues flew home to Manchester through the night on Sunday ahead of the Community Shield with Arsenal next week, the last fortnight has put the first winds into the sails of the Maresca era.
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