Leicester City have their new coach. They have their player exodus on going. They have a rebuild. Here is how Enzo Maresca will set up the refreshed Foxes.
Initially, I had lambasted the lack of experienced illustrated by this Italian head coach – I was concerned that the King Power club may have gone for a gamble rather than a guarantee – however, Maresca does have more than just an assistant coach on his CV. Interestingly, the coach has used different formations for the sides he has managed.
To be honest, it is difficult to say with certainty how the Foxes’ new head coach will play with the team. A lot depends upon the transfer business which is undertaken: needing a certain kind of player to perform a certain way to maximise his play style.
To help understand how the manager will set up his stall, let us have a brief look at Maresca’s career up until now, and then we shall analyse the two teams – formations, play style, etc. – they have managed. I will be using Sofascore for much of the formational information.
Leicester City’s cultured coach
Enzo Maresca represents the new era of head coaches. Managed by the best of the best, a thinker in and of themselves, and playing across many leagues and different formations; a footballer learning to coach. This is why I describe the Italian head coach as a cultured coach.
As per LCFC.com’s article on Maresca, as a player Leicester’s manager started in the AC Milan youth set up, then shifting to Cagliari, before making his English debut for West Bromwich Albion. However, his primary influences are Mediterranean.
Starring for Juventus in a team including Zinedine Zidane, a couple loans to fellow Italian sides, and then his big move. Maresca played as a critical midfielder for Spanish side Sevilla for four years; he won trophy after trophy with the exciting team.
His final years included spells at Palmero, Olympiacos, Hellas Verona, and Sampordia. So, it is easy to illustrate the influences on his footballing mind: positive, possession-based, a winning mentality, and of course more intricately tactical. These features are what likely made Maresca a target for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as they looked to strengthen their development side.
Enzo Maresca’s managerial exploits
I have said previously there are three things which matter when signing a new head coach: experience, play style, and developmental capacity. These three elements are what end up making the Italian Leicester City’s best shot at long term success.
Experience-wise, the Foxes-bound manager is of course a cultured former-player with plenty of different managers’ tutorships and influences impacting his myriad knowledge of footballing philosophies. Further to this, the Italian has had two stints of note; we shall use these to analyse his play style.
Guardiola’s elite ‘Sky Blues’ sought after the former player after he hung up his boots. They brought him in to manage their ‘Elite Development Side’ – aka their U21 Premier League 2 team. Turns out, the coach did really well. His side won their first ever division title with 56 points versus Chelsea U23’s 42 points. A 14 point clearance in a league with only 24 matches is nothing to snuff at. He was there for the 2020/21 campaign.
It is clear why they wanted him. Being so cultured in more progressive, intricate football, Maresca offers a similar philosophy and outlook to ‘Pep’ – when developing your youth side, it works well to develop them in the same way you wish them to play for the senior side. That is why Manchester City’s development side creates so many flourishing prospects.
The Italian’s first ever lineup was an aggressive 4-1-4-1 reminiscent of Brendan Rodgers’ first spectacular season with the Foxes. The King Power side probably saw this and would be pleased with a return to a more positive way of playing. After all, a 4-1-4-1 naturally lends itself to progressive fullbacks, a strong box-to-box ball winner in the middle, and creative playmakers.
His final game saw an identical play style, an identical formation, although the composition of players was of course slightly different. My key transfer target Cole Palmer played in this final fixture.
Now then, outside of a dominant and brilliant youth set up, Maresca was more conservative with his lineups. LCFC’s new coach was actually at Parma in Serie B for a short time: his first match being 07/21 and final being 11/21.
Again, the Italian opted for identical formations and playing-styles throughout his Parma tenure: a 3-5-2. Though short lived and ultimately unsuccessful, this time illustrates a critical point for the Foxes: just giving Enzo Maresca half a season, with little backing, and not allowing the coach to play to his own style, would be fatal to both Leicester and the head coach.
However, with the right players, the correct developmental philosophy from the senior down to the youth sides, supported well from the board, Maresca can improve players, build a strong team, and importantly, win matches. Winning matches is what matters.
‘MarescaBall’
MarescaBall is an aggressive, ever-dynamic and shifting team with each player a uniquely suited individual in their own right. As an example of how the King Power side have already seen this, we should remember how critical Ricardo Pereira, Youri Tielemans, Wilfred Ndidi, and later Jonny Evans would be to how that 4-1-4-1 under the Northern Irishman actually performed. Without them, the side were limp as no one else could do it.
This is the gamble of signing up our new manager. Maresca could be well backed and have the right players to set out a positive, cultured, and tactically intricate style of play where each role is expressive and critical. Or, minus the backing we fallback towards the Parma outcome: limp, defensive football lacking any penetrative or dominating force.