Maresca Swears He Won't Just Copy Pep's City Blueprint

The Italian faced the press for the very first time as City's head honcho on Friday. He knows the score. Anyone stepping into those shoes — following a manager who snagged six Premier League titles, four of them back-to-back, and City's first Champions League — has a mountain to climb. Sky Sports said so.

Maresca, 46, is back at the club for his third stint. He served as academy coach, then got promoted to Guardiola's assistant for that ridiculous 2022-23 treble-winning season. You'd think that legacy might box him in, right? Nah. He's spinning it as 'adapting established principles.' Translation: he'll cherry-pick the good bits, then try to make them his own.

"I don't think they just copy and paste," he declared. "I don't see the football in the same way as the previous manager, that is why I don't believe in copy and paste." Fair enough. Don't call it plagiarism, call it 'inspiration.'

He droned on about day-to-day preparation. Player development, too. Not just trophies, he insisted, but everyone knows what really matters at City. Still, he's got a decent enough track record: titles at Leicester and Chelsea. So, yeah, he reckons his 'approach' can land silverware at the Etihad. We'll see.

City's first real test? Bournemouth, August 23. Mark it down. One of his first headaches: a captain. Bernardo Silva's future is a question mark, so Rubén Dias, Rodri, and Erling Haaland are all apparently in the mix. Pick one, boss. Fast.