Who is New Chelsea Manager Enzo Maresca

Enzo Maresca has been appointed the new Chelsea manager on a five-year contract. The Italian enjoyed a successful playing career, plying his trade for the likes of Juventus, Sevilla, and Olympiakos. Maresca is early on in his coaching career, having only had two manager roles in senior football since 2021. His best achievement as a manager so far came last season, when he led Leicester City to the Championship title with 97 points after 46 games.

Many people know the former Italian midfielder because of his time as an assistant manager under Pep Guardiola. He was part of the coaching staff that led Manchester City to a historic treble in the 2022/23 campaign. Maresca’s style of play is heavily possession-based, with patient build-up play prioritised. He will be under pressure straight away in the Chelsea hotseat, as the 44-year-old has been tasked with delivering Champions League football immediately.

Playing Career

Maresca joined the AC Milan academy at the age of 10, where he played with former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi. He then moved to Cagliari after three years at Milan, where he spent four seasons. Maresca began his professional career in England at West Bromwich Albion in 1998, where he was impressed with his skilful and creative midfield presence. This venture only lasted 18 months, though, as Juventus signed him for £4.3 million in January 2000. It was here that he won his first piece of silverware, when Juventus won the Serie A title in the 2001/2002 season. In the four years at the Old Lady, Maresca spent time on loan at Bologna and Piacenza before making the switch to Fiorentina in 2004.

After only spending a season at Fiorentina, the Italian made the switch to Spain with Sevilla. This is where he was most successful as a player, winning two UEFA Cups, a UEFA Super Cup, and a Copa del Rey. Spells at Olympiacos and Malaga followed before Maresca returned to Italy, where he played for Sampdoria, Palermo, and Hellas Verona. He retired in 2017 at Hellas Verona, having made nearly 500 appearances as a player. The knowledge that he had gained from managers and players across the world meant that a move into coaching was the logical next step.

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Coaching Career

After the conclusion of his playing career, Maresca studied at the Italian FA’s university of football, named the Coverciano Technical Centre. Here, he wrote a thesis on his tactical philosophy, likening his style of play to the complexities of the board game chess. This earned assistant manager roles at Ascoli, Sevilla, and West Ham between 2017 and 2019. He worked under the likes of Fulvio Fiorin and Manuel Pelligrini. At West Ham, Maresca was given control over tactical training sessions in the week before a game, and they were described as “revelatory” by players such as Robert Snodgrass.

After the role at West Ham, Maresca was given the chance to manage Manchester City’s U23s. He was successful in leading them to the Premier League 2 title. This earned him his first senior management role at Parma in Serie B. The Italian club had just been relegated from Serie A and signed 15 players in a desperate attempt to gain instant promotion back to the top flight. However, it didn’t work out, and the young manager was sacked after only 14 games in charge. This prompted a return to Manchester City, where he worked as an assistant manager under Guardiola in the treble-winning season of 2022/23.

In the summer of 2023, Maresca was appointed manager of Leicester City, who had just been relegated from the Premier League. Before the turn of the year, the Foxes dominated the Championship and were well ahead of the chasing pack going into 2024. His side wobbled in the new year and at one point looked like they might drop out of the automatic promotion spots, but the 44-year-old manager restored their form, winning the title ahead of Ipswich Town on 97 points. In his 53 matches in charge of Leicester in all competitions, Maresca boasted a points-per-game record of 2.11.

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Tactical Approach

Maresca is football-obsessed and believes unilaterally in his style of play. Before games, he will play out tactical scenarios in his head and on a counterboard to identify weaknesses in the opposition before presenting his thoughts to the rest of his staff and, finally, the players. He talks about his pre-match preparation in more detail in the masterclass video he did with the Coaches Voice back in December 2023.

The former Manchester City assistant manager likes to set up in a flexible 4-3-3 formation, which turns into a 4-5-1 defensively as the two wingers help out the three central players. Meanwhile, in possession, the shape turns into a 3-2-5, which is similar to how Guardiola sets up his City team in the Premier League against low blocks. Last season, this usually involved the right-back inverting alongside the deepest midfielder to form a double pivot in front of the back four. This is something that Mauricio Pochettino did to great effect at the back end of the 2023/24 campaign, with Marc Cucurella effectively operating in an inverted role. Meanwhile, the two number eights push higher to join the striker and the wingers on either side to form a front five. The in-possession build-up structure implemented by Maresca during Leicester’s 5-0 win against fellow promoted side Southampton in April can be seen below.

Speaking about the effectiveness of Maresca’s tactical approach in October 2023, Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall said:

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Maresca’s Contract at Chelsea

Maresca has agreed a five-year contract with Chelsea, ending in June 2029. At least five of his coaching staff will join him at the Blues, including former Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero, Danny Walker, Michele de Bernardin, Marcos Alvarez, and Javier Molina Caballero. The Italian manager also has an option to extend his contract by one year. Leicester will receive compensation in the region of £10 million and will begin their search for a new manager immediately. It is telling that Pochettino was only given a two-year contract, with an option to extend for an additional year, compared to Maresca’s five-year deal.

The Chelsea sporting directors, Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart identified the former Parma manager as the best person to fit the current structure at the club and develop a clear, distinct style of play that suits the expensively assembled squad. Maresca will be financially backed in the summer, with three key areas already identified. It is understood that the Italian is keen on adding a goalkeeper, left-back and a forward when the transfer window opens on 14th June. Chelsea’s spending spree doesn’t look like stopping any time soon, with the club “set to complete” the signing of the highly-rated Palmeiras youngster Estevao Willian in a deal that could surpass £50 million.

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