Enzo Maresca’s appointment as Manchester City’s head coach has sparked mixed reactions in Italy, with Gazzetta claiming that the ex-Chelsea boss is a source of both pride and regret for Italian football.
Manchester City confirmed Maresca’s appointment on Monday, with the Italian tactician replacing Pep Guardiola after ten years.
A former Juventus midfielder, Maresca arguably reached the peak of his playing and coaching career abroad.
Football Italia has discussed the matter in our latest episode of the Football Italia Summer Show on YouTube.
Filippo Maria Ricci, a journalist for La Gazzetta dello Sport, analyzed Maresca’s appointment in his latest column, discussing what it means for Italian football.
“The first is a source of genuine national pride: an Italian coach being selected to lead a wealthy and ambitious club like Manchester City is a major achievement,” the journalist wrote.
Gazzetta reacts to Maresca’s appointment as Manchester City coach
“The second concerns the complex, contentious and costly chain of negotiations and events that ultimately took Maresca from Chelsea to Manchester City.”
Ricci confirmed that City had approached Guardiola towards the end of 2025, when the Italian was still under contract with Chelsea.
“In December, Maresca was contacted by Manchester City, being informed that he was being considered as Guardiola’s successor,” the journalist wrote.
“The coach immediately informed Chelsea, and on New Year’s Day, he resigned. Relations within this footballing triangle first became strained and then completely broke down.”
Maresca won the Conference League and the Club World Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge. A few years before, during the 2023-24 campaign, he had secure Premier League promotion with Leicester City.
“These were outstanding achievements despite the obvious turmoil surrounding the club at Stamford Bridge, with an oversized squad, internal disagreements among executives, and financially and contractually burdensome player deals,” Ricci concluded.
“Maresca excelled, and it is hard not to smile when reflecting on his two unsuccessful experiences in Italy: Italian football really is a unique environment.”
Maresca has never coached a Serie A club and was sacked by Parma after the opening 13 games of the 2021-22 campaign.
Source: Football Italia
