ENZO MARESCA doesn’t mind comparisons with Pep Guardiola, he just doesn’t like the fact that they are lookalikes.
Chelsea’s new manager was nicknamed Pep 2.0 or Diet Pep, having moved into management from being Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.
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Maresca has his own approach and ideas, but sitting in a cigar lounge at Atlanta’s luxurious St. Regis Hotel, the Italian admits the stark similarity that will always draw comparisons – a similarity he would love to change.
He said: “I always say the same thing, I have four children, a mother and a father, we are different.”
Then, pointing to the reporter, he continued: “The only thing is that I would like to be more like you, with lots of hair!
“Even my wife would love this. I know that. But unfortunately, I’m like that, so everyone is thinking [we are the same].
“But is it boring?
“Because at the end of the day, I have my children, I have my family.
“I must say that if I am where I am now, it is definitely because of him. Because I fell in love with this idea.
“I was 28, 29 years old. I faced Barcelona. On the field I realized that it wasn’t the same playing against another team. Since then, I fell in love with this idea.”
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That idea, the possession-based attacking approach adopted by Guardiola and Maresca, is why he’s sitting on a leather sofa in the United States right now.
After extraordinary success with Leicester City, winning the championship in his first season as English football manager, the family holiday in Marbella did not go smoothly.
Meet Pep Guardiola’s disciple, Enzo Maresca
ENZO MARESCA is considered one of the most exciting young coaches on the planet.
Born in Italy in 1980, he managed to guide Leicester to the Championship title in his first season as Foxes manager.
His management career began at Italian minnows Ascoli, before being signed by Man City in 2020 to manage their Elite Development Squad.
He guided the youth team to the Premier League 2 title in his only season working for the Citizens – with Cole Palmer in the team.
His first senior job was at Parma, but he was sacked just months later after failing to impress.
Despite the team playing in Serie B and Maresca having an impressive squad, he was unable to take them on the path to promotion.
He returned to Man City and worked as one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants in the 2022/23 season in the Treble victory.
He took over at relegated Leicester last summer and made an immediate impact as the Foxes won the Championship title.
Maresca showed his dedication to his job by living at the training camp for the first two months after his appointment.
He is considered something of a disciple of Pep and said: “For a coach, it is important to have the mentality of a chess player.”
During his playing career he played with Carlo Ancelotti and Marcello Lippi – and alongside former Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi.
Even before Chelsea came calling, another top Premier League team approached – and tried again just as a deal with the Blues was close.
The Italian won’t say who, although Liverpool, Brighton and West Ham have made changes this summer, while Manchester United have interviewed a number of managers.
He revealed: “To be honest, since I finished with Leicester, after a few days, a few weeks, Chelsea contacted me.
“But there was also another big club that contacted me, so the summer was busy.
“I decided on Chelsea, firstly because Chelsea were more aggressive. After two or three meetings they became clear.
“The other was just one or two approaches and when they saw Chelsea they asked me: ‘Do we still have time or is it too late?’
“But by then I had already made my decision.”
Everyone now wants a slice of that Guardiola-style football, but Maresca has an early warning for all potential employers.
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He said: “What I don’t like is people or the club expecting the same football that City are playing.
“When I arrived at Leicester they asked me: ‘We want to change the style and we want to play in the same way as City’.
“I told them, ‘We don’t have the same players and I’m not the same coach.’
“The same thing when I met Chelsea. I said, ‘That’s the idea, but we probably need time because the players also need to understand how we want to play and it’s a little different.’
“That’s something I struggle with a little sometimes when I see something.
“People say: ‘Because he’s bald and has a beard, he wants to play the same way’. No, I do not want.
“I try to play the way we want to play, it’s probably similar because I fell in love with that idea, but that doesn’t mean it’s exactly the same way.”
Although Guardiola wished his former assistant good luck and the pair spoke during the US tour, the City manager is not Maresca’s only inspiration.
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He cites Carlo Ancelotti and Manuel Pellegrini, with whom he worked as an assistant at West Ham, as influences due to his masculine management style.
There was also a call to former Chelsea and Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri after taking on both roles, although there is an unusual connection with another former Blues manager.
Maresca said: “When I was 18 I joined West Brom and lived very close to Graham Potter’s house.
“I didn’t have a driver’s license, so he took me to training every morning. He was like my taxi.
“When I meet him again, when he was at Brighton or Chelsea, we always have fun, we joke: ‘You were my driver!’”
Maresca met up with former teammate Potter outside of work during last season – but anything his former teammate said about working at Chelsea and under this ownership didn’t put him off.
The new player loves the look of this young team and feels he adapts to their style, but knows he will need time and patience.
He added: “I have no doubt we can have an impact.
“Now, it’s always the same question. It’s a question of time, you know. But even at Leicester, at the beginning, it’s a completely different idea, a different concept.”
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Maresca has been working hard with his team during the pre-season tour, trying to make that impact, but there have also been light moments when the newcomers have stood up and sang their initiation song. Just not all newcomers.
He said: “Everyone has to do it unless they are a coach.
“Because when I signed the contract with Chelsea, they said the managers wouldn’t sing!”
However, one thing could change that policy – considering fellow Italian Antonio Conte sang ‘Malafemmena’ as his team won the title.
Maresca added: “If someone said that singing would make us win the title, then I will sing every night.”
He will rely more on his style and approach than his vocal chords to achieve success, but if a trophy or two arrives – just like Guardiola – there is only one way to celebrate, with a Partagas No2 Cuban cigar.
He said, “I love cigars, yes. I love Partagas because it’s my father’s, it’s something in the family.”
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