"You need to evolve": Enzo Maresca plots life after Pep at Manchester City

Enzo Maresca has been unveiled as Manchester City’s new manager and acknowledged the scale of replacing Pep Guardiola. “Before we start, I would like to send a message and a big hug to Kevin Keegan’s family for this moment,” said the Italian in tribute to a football legend, following his death on Monday.

Calm and tanned, Maresca took his place at a press dais that Guardiola occupied for 10 mostly glittering years, confronting a task defined by the reputation of his predecessor. The 46-year-old’s opening remarks included an unsolicited nod to figures from the recent past of English football, signalling an awareness of the expectations he inherits. His references to Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger underlined the scale of the role and the historical rivalries that frame life at City.

Kevin Keegan’s place in that history was noted during the presentation: he was a former City manager who, while at Newcastle, famously locked horns with Sir Alex Ferguson when Ferguson led Manchester United, the fierce rivals of Maresca’s new team. The tribute to Keegan, who died earlier in the week, framed Maresca’s first public engagement and set a reflective tone to the introduction. City supporters and observers were reminded that Maresca steps into a role suffused with memory as well as expectation.

Maresca’s manner on the dais—measured and personable—served to contrast the monumental shadow cast by Guardiola’s decade at the club. That 10-year period is the benchmark he must match or reinterpret, and Maresca’s early comments suggested he understands the magnitude of that responsibility. He did not shy away from invoking the long shadows cast by prior managers and rivals as he addressed the assembled media.

The new manager’s previous time at Manchester City was referenced as a potential advantage in handling the transition. While he must secure buy-in from a squad accustomed to Guardiola’s methods, Maresca’s familiarity with the club’s environment may offer practical help in translating his vision. His appointment makes clear that the club expects continuity but also adaptation to a different leadership style.

Maresca’s presentation combined respect for the club’s past with an acceptance of the challenge ahead, and his initial public remarks set a tone of sober ambition. By acknowledging the loss of Keegan and nodding to legendary figures from the domestic game, he made plain that he recognises both the cultural and competitive context of managing Manchester City. His earlier association with the club, the spotlight of following Guardiola and his public composure together frame the immediate story of his first steps in the job.