Enzo Maresca Embraces ‘Privilege’ of Succeeding Pep Guardiola at Manchester City

Posted : 11 August 2026

Enzo Maresca is beginning to experience the enormous challenge of replacing Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but the Italian insists the opportunity is a privilege rather than an impossible task.

Maresca returned to City this summer after previously working as one of Guardiola's assistants during the club's historic 2022-23 treble-winning campaign. He was appointed manager in June on a three-year contract after Guardiola ended his decade-long reign at the Etihad.

Guardiola departed after establishing himself as one of the most successful managers in the club's history. During his tenure, City won numerous major honours, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League, leaving Maresca with the difficult responsibility of maintaining the team's exceptionally high standards.

The new manager, however, says comparisons with Guardiola will not determine his approach. Maresca acknowledged that the Spaniard has been the outstanding manager of the past 15 to 20 years, but believes he must eventually be judged on his own work.

Maresca also revealed that he met Guardiola in Barcelona shortly before officially taking charge at City. The pair spent several hours together, with the former assistant taking the opportunity to gain insight from his predecessor while also recognising the importance of forming his own opinions once he began working with the squad.

"I like to go in empty sometimes to see things for myself," Maresca explained, emphasising that although Guardiola knows the club and its players extremely well, the new manager needs to assess the situation independently.

One visible sign of the transition has already emerged at City's training headquarters. Maresca has moved into the office previously occupied by former assistant Pep Lijnders, next to Guardiola's old office, which has now been transformed into a meeting room.

Maresca's path to the City job has also been unusual. Before returning to the club, he managed Leicester City and Chelsea, winning the Championship with Leicester and later guiding Chelsea to European and global success. He left Stamford Bridge in January before eventually being chosen as Guardiola's successor.

During his time away from football management, Maresca also tried to broaden his knowledge outside the game. He spent more time with his wife and four children and completed two masterclasses focused on artificial intelligence, saying he wanted to better understand the rapidly developing technology.

Now, however, Maresca faces a much bigger challenge. City are entering a new era after Guardiola's departure, and the Italian knows that results will inevitably be compared with those achieved by his predecessor. Yet he views the pressure as part of an opportunity to establish his own identity at one of Europe's biggest clubs.

Enzo Maresca Embraces ‘Privilege’ of Succeeding Pep Guardiola at Manchester City

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