Man City Treble winner gives glowing Enzo Maresca verdict – ‘As a human’

Manchester City have appointed Enzo Maresca and one of their former greats is excited to see the Italian given the opportunity

Ilkay Gundogan is delighted to see the ‘incredible’ Enzo Maresca taking over from Pep Guardiola as the next Manchester City manager. Former City assistant Maresca has agreed a three-year deal to succeed one of the greatest coaches of all time and will be tasked with continuing a golden era of success for the club.

That would be a daunting task for anybody, but it is one that Maresca has been willing to take on. And from his time working as a No.2 to Guardiola during the 2022/23 season when City won the Treble, the Italian left a big impression on players.

Gundogan was captain that season, and across eight years at the club over two spells became one of the most reliable players for Guardiola. The two saw football in the same way and Gundogan could be trusted to know what his manager wanted in games and transfer that message to teammates.

That connection also drove the midfielder’s passion for coaching, and he is open to a return to City in the future after he has finished his playing career. In the meantime, while Guardiola has warned against anybody trying to copy and paste his methods, Gundogan has seen a lot from Maresca already to believe that the pair have enough similarities for City and their fans to be excited about the new appointment.

“As a coach I think he has amazing qualities,” he said. “Maybe they are now obviously different than he was when he was an assistant – this is something I can’t really judge – but you know that he’s smart and he knows exactly what he does. As a human being he’s unbelievable, honestly.

“In this football world I have not met many other people like him to be honest. I think he will be incredible and, similar to Pep, he has the intelligence to do the right decisions and to do the right tactical things. But then also the human side, to get everyone on board. I’m sure that probably 99% of the people inside the club will also be very happy.”