Khaldoon Al Mubarak on Enzo Maresca: The three qualities that sealed the Man City job

Khaldoon Al Mubarak didn’t have to think long about who should replace Pep Guardiola. The Manchester City chairman says he already knew what he was getting in Enzo Maresca — and it came down to three specific traits.

Maresca, 46, takes over after Guardiola’s decade-long run brought six Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy to East Manchester. That kind of shadow doesn’t scare off everyone, apparently.

The three things that mattered most

Speaking publicly about the hire, Al Mubarak pointed to Maresca’s football philosophy, his tactical mind and his humanity. Those three elements, he said, made the decision straightforward.

“Enzo is very known to us and we’ve always been very, very attracted by his football, by his mind, by his humanity,” Al Mubarak said. He called Maresca someone who “doesn’t shy away from the challenge” and pointed to his stints at Leicester and Chelsea as proof.

Maresca won promotion from the Championship with Leicester, then took over at Chelsea where he added a Conference League title and a Club World Cup. Things went south with Chelsea’s board eventually, but City saw enough to bring him back into the fold.

Familiar face, fresh ideas

Maresca already knows the building. He spent the 2022-23 season as Guardiola’s assistant during the treble campaign and previously ran City’s elite development squad. That history matters to Al Mubarak.

“He was part of the academy, with the success of the academy, and then he was part of the treble-winning team — one of the most important teams in the history of this club,” the chairman said.

The connections run deep. Some current City players, including Nico O’Reilly, worked with Maresca in the youth system. Al Mubarak thinks that familiarity will make the transition smoother, though he stressed Maresca isn’t just a Guardiola clone.

“He’s one of Pep’s assistants at one point in his career so definitely — he will tell you — he’s going to have taken a lot of inspiration in the philosophy of Pep,” Al Mubarak added. “But he’s also evolved his own philosophy.”

City’s chairman acknowledged the scale of what Maresca is walking into. He called it “a big challenge” that “scares off many people.” Then he pointed out why Maresca is different.

“The beauty with Enzo is he actually wants that challenge. He loves that challenge.”