Enzo Maresca Named New Leicester City Men’s Manager

Leicester City have unveiled former Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca as the new manager of the men’s team. Maresca was Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man during what was a reasonably successful season at the Etihad.

Maresca’s appointment to lead the Foxes in England’s second tier is fitting as he started his playing career at West Bromwich Albion in the old First Division. An Italy U21 International, Maresca’s career spanned just under 400 matches with 11 clubs over 20 seasons (editor’s note: This sentence needs more numbers in it.)

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His managerial resume is a bit thin, consisting of 14 matches at the helm of Parma in 2021. He’s also served as an assistant at Ascoli, Sevilla, and West Ham in addition to his most recent stint at Manchester City. In spite of the scant record, Maresca won Leicester’s board over with his ability to communicate, tactical knowledge, and overall plan for the club’s long-term success.

The appointment of Enzo Maresca represents the sort of risk that Leicester City fans will, or at least should, be excited to see the club taking. Hiring Scott Parker or Dean Smith would have been “safe” hires as both of them have recent promotions from the Championship under their belts. Maresca has no such record of success on his CV and thus has much more to prove as the man in charge.

However, neither Smith nor Parker has a great deal to recommend them beyond the ability to get promoted. The appointment of Maresca is a sign that the club recognize that the last season’s failures were systemic and that bringing this club back up is a project and not merely a blip in the fortunes of a club on solid footing.

It’s also worth noting that, contrary to all of the complaints about the club not bringing in a new manager quickly enough, City were the first relegated side to fill their managerial vacancy. It was, by the standards of these things, a swift and aggressive move.

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Of course, the big question is: Will he be successful? I have no clue. That’s a difficult question to answer definitively, even with the cream of the crop. We got the assistant to the best manager on the planet. His previous assistant, Mikel Arteta, has done decently well at Arsenal. You can never guarantee success; you can just do your best to try to set yourself up for it. In hiring Enzo Maresca, I think Leicester City have done just that.

Eh, but who cares what I think? What do YOU think?