Enzo Maresca Leicester City boss ‘not scared’ about fresh start with Foxes
As a teenager, with no grasp of the English language, he chose to start his professional playing career in the Midlands with West Brom. He then earned himself a place in a Juventus dressing room, alongside footballing greats Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro del Piero, on his return to Italy.
to try to get Leicester City back to the Premier League.
“I’m not nervous or scared about starting new things,” Maresca told BBC East Midlands Today.
“When I was 18 I said I was leaving Italy for England, it was something new and I didn’t speak a word of English. And then from there I returned to Italy with a big club, the best club in Italy, Juventus. .
“Leicester is a big club, an important club. “I know we are Leicester and everyone talks about the Premier League. I know it’s natural to come here and that goal is there.”
During his first two months as Foxes manager, Maresca lived at the club’s training base in north Leicestershire, where he “got a feel” for the job he inherited.
“I like being there to feel the sensations,” he said. “I’m quite ambitious.”
‘Leicester is the perfect job’
No team has gone from Premier League champions to the Championship faster than the Foxes.
Seven years after winning the English title and just two years after winning the FA Cup, Leicester returned to the second division for the first time in a decade. Their decline last season came as Maresca contributed to domestic and European glory at Manchester City, the club he returned to just a year earlier after a 180-day spell in the Italian second division as coach from Parma.
When asked if leaving Man City was a difficult decision just six days after winning the Champions League final against Inter Milan, Maresca replied:
“No, because my idea is always to start with myself.
“They knew there that with the right opportunity, with the right club, I would leave. Leicester is the perfect club.
“My first goal was to join a club that would allow me to work the way I wanted, and from day one when I met the club we agreed on how they wanted to play and how I wanted to play. play.”
This is how “Maresca-ball” – defined by a style of play built around deliberate, patient, possession – was born at the King Power Stadium. The best example of what he expects of his team came in their 4-1 win over Southampton, when goalkeeper Mads Hermansen started a 33rd pass that ended with Wilfred Ndidi calmly scoring third goal for the Foxes of the evening.
This was also a game in which Jamie Vardy scored after just 21 seconds and Stephy Mavididi ran from deep inside his own box for a fine solo strike.
It showed that Leicester can do it quickly, slowly and even spectacularly.
The win against a Saints side that were relegated alongside Leicester last season was their most comprehensive win to date, with the Foxes second in the table with six wins from seven.
“Already it’s happened in the five or six games, more than 30 passes, but in the end we didn’t score so people don’t realise,” Maresca said. “When you score it’s normal that the people can see so clearly.
“I was happy the other day because the team is doing what we want and they are enjoying it.”
Such a well-crafted goal, coming from a side managed by a man who worked under Guardiola, is enough to see Maresca’s approach compared to that of his former boss.
The Italian is quick to smile when talking of the influence the Spaniard has had on him – but he speaks the same way of playing under Carlo Ancelotti and Marcello Lippi when at Juve, working with Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham and playing alongside Antonio Conte.
“I have been lucky learning from many managers, like Ancelotti, Lippi, Manuel Pellegrini, so you can take things and in the end you make your own ideas,” Maresca said.
“Because I was at City you cannot think to try to copy from Pep. You can learn a lot every day, many things, but to copy it is very difficult because he is so good – the number one, a genius – and you cannot think in the way he is thinking.”
Maresca wants patience
Maresca’s approach has so far got results and has the Foxes flying high.
He also knows that not all the Foxes faithful will be convinced by what he is trying to do – yet.
Asked if he had a message for Leicester supporters, Maresca said: “To be patient, because I can understand that sometimes they prefer to be more straight, direct and long ball. But it is not the way we want to play.
“Sometimes if we see that playing direct we can create chances and be dangerous, then yes. But it’s not our identity and not our style, so the only thing I can say is make an effort to understand the way we want to play and to continue with that. because we need them.
“And for sure if they are patient we are going to reach our target.”
