Nine things you need to know about Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca

The Leicester City manager has set the Championship alight with his possession-based game - and this weekend he gets to pit his wits against Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-finals. 

His career is one that provides a great understanding of the tactical game mixed with pure passion.

Here, Planet Sport’s Samy Aouati looks at nine things you need to know about Maresca.  

Being a Baggie

Maresca was born on February 10, 1980, in Malaga, Spain. Maresca began his professional football career with West Bromwich Albion at the age of just 18. 

Predominantly playing in central attacking midfield, Maresca was known for his technical ability and complete passing range.  

Success with Sevilla 

Maresca started his career in England with West Brom but also had stints with several clubs around Europe including Juventus, Fiorentina, and Sevilla. 

Maresca played most games with Sevilla, winning the majority of his honours with the Spanish side (2 x UEFA Cup, 1 x Spanish Cup, 1 x UEFA Super Cup).  

Hung his boots up in 2014

Maresca retired from professional football in 2014 after a 15-year career. However, Maresca had fallen in love with the tactical aspect of the game and decided to obtain his badges and work within youth football.  

History maker

Maresca joined Manchester City in 2018, working within the club’s academy. Later, he led the 2020/21 Manchester City Development side during the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

He caught the eye while impressively guiding the young side to their first-ever Premier League 2 title before taking up a new role with the club.  

Part of Pep’s school of excellence

Maresca is one of many emerging young talented coaches to have taken their learnings from Pep Guardiola. 

Maresca has mentioned his love for Guardiola’s style during his time as his assistant manager in 2022, explaining the ideology is simply genius. 

The Leicester City boss is the most recent graduate from the Pep Guardiola school of excellence, joining names like Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and Vincent Kompany.  

Pass masters

Maresca has adopted a similar style to both Guardiola and Arteta with a possession-based style of play. 

A common pattern between the three managers are the inverted full-backs creating numerical advantages within midfield, often shaping up with a 3-2 build-up phase which we see Guardiola adopt with Man City. 

Leicester City have averaged the highest passes per sequence metric that Man City dominate in the Premier League, showing a clear similarity in the way they both play.  

Brief stint with Parma 

Maresca joined Italian side Parma in 2021 as a head coach. This would see him take the reins at the helm of a side for the very first time within senior professional football. 

Unfortunately, his time would end after 14 games in charge. Following his departure, he would join Guardiola’s side for 2022, up until his recent appointment as Leicester manager in 2023.  

Love for the game 

During his time with Sevilla as a player, Maresca had often played against Guardiola’s dominant Barcelona sides. 

He often would go away after playing Barcelona and conduct tactical insights on how they were so dominant. 

Managers often adopt their love for managing many years later after retirement, but at the age of 28 Maresca knew that having a managerial career is what he wanted to do.  

Pellegrini influence 

Guardiola was a huge inspiration but Maresca also learned lots from Manuel Pellegrini. 

Maresca often referred to Pellegrini as his father within football, really emphasising the amazing relationship between the pair. 

Maresca served as a coach for Pellegrini during his spells at West Ham United and Sevilla. 

He has absorbed vast managerial experience from both Guardiola and Pellegrini but is now forging his own path and enjoying success with Leicester City.  

Summary 

Maresca is benefitting from tapping into a rich fountain of expert knowledge since deciding to take the managerial plunge - and he will no doubt continue to grow into his role as Leicester City manager as they continue their pursuit of a return to the Premier League.

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