Enzo Maresca has refused to be pigeon-holed as a Pep Guardiola clone, as the Italian gets to grips with life as Chelsea head coach.
The Blues’ new Italian has revealed how club chiefs at both Leicester and now Chelsea detailed plans to emulate Guardiola’s approach at Manchester City – and how he then had to explain why that does not translate elsewhere.
Former West Brom and Juventus midfielder Maresca sees the overt physical resemblance with Guardiola – bald head, beard and so on – but insisted the similarities do eventually stop, when it comes to tactics.
Maresca worked under Guardiola at City, and freely accepts his disciple status after learning from the game’s current preeminent manager, but now he has revealed he is determined to carve his own path.
“When I joined Leicester and met the chairman and sporting director, they said: ‘We want to play the same way that City play’,” Maresca told the Daily Mail.
“I told them: ‘We don't have the same players, and I am not the same manager’. And the same thing when I met Chelsea. I said: ‘The idea is that idea, but probably we need time because the players also need to understand what way we want to play and it’s different’.
“This is something I struggle a little bit with: ‘Because he's bald and with a beard, he wants to play the same’. No, I don't. I fell in love with that idea, but that does not mean it is exactly the same.”
Chelsea are midway through their pre-season tour of the USA, with Maresca working out to maximise the resources of a sizeable squad having replaced Mauricio Pochettino at the Blues’ helm.
Maresca revealed Guardiola is delighted that his former assistant at City has stepped up to Premier League level with Chelsea, having moved on from Leicester. The two colleagues will face each other on the Premier League’s season’s opening weekend, when Chelsea host City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 18.
The comparisons with Guardiola have been constant, not just due to similar features, but also because of familiar tactical approaches.
Asked if nicknames like Diet Pep are an annoyance, he replied: “No. Because in the end, I have my wife, I have my kids, I have my family. We are all different.
“When I joined Chelsea, [Guardiola] was very happy because he is sure [that] with timing, we can build something important. If I am where I am now, it is because of him.”
