• Maresca spoke with Guardiola a week ago & describes their relationship as “very quite close”

• Man City boss insists he is “not here to try and copy someone” and will install his own football

• Italian says he is “quite relaxed” despite clubs often struggling after a long-serving manager leaves

Enzo Maresca has addressed the challenge of following Pep Guardiola at Manchester City head-on, insisting he has no intention of copying his predecessor and will impose his own footballing identity at the Etihad Stadium.

The 46-year-old was asked repeatedly about his relationship with Guardiola and how he intends to approach the challenge of succeeding one of the game’s greatest coaches at his first press conference as Manchester City manager.

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Maresca was candid about his closeness to Guardiola, the reality of the challenge he faces, and the belief that his own vision for the game is distinct enough to stand entirely on its own terms at the Etihad Stadium.

His words across the press conference built a consistent picture: a manager who holds Guardiola in the highest regard but sees no contradiction between that respect and the confidence he has in what he intends to bring to the role himself.

The responses also laid to rest any suggestion that Maresca might lean on Guardiola for ongoing input during the season – making it clear that while their personal relationship remains close, his approach to the job will be entirely his own from day one.

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Maresca: “I’m not here to try and copy someone – I don’t believe in copy and paste”

Asked whether he had spoken to Guardiola since taking the job, Maresca was clear that contact between the two men has not simply been a matter of professional courtesy.

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“I spoke with Pep a lot, since he decided to leave the club,” said Maresca. “I was with him a week ago, we spent some hours together. But the relation with Pep, since I was with the Under-23s, always has been very quite close.”

On whether he expects that contact to continue on a week-to-week basis during the season, Maresca was equally firm: “No, he needs to enjoy his moment. And I also need to do my job and find a solution for myself. But after 10 years playing every three days, every three days, it’s quite demanding. So I think now he deserves a relax.”

On the question of whether following Guardiola is daunting, Maresca returned to the same framing he has used throughout his early days in the role: “Yeah but again, it depends in which way you take it.”

“For me, it’s a privilege. I think and I consider, some of you or all of you consider Pep the best coach and the best manager in the last 20 years. So for me it’s a privilege, and it’s also a challenge because we saw that after these kind of managers, always the club struggles – I know that, I’m aware of it. But at the same time, I’m quite relaxed that I’m sure that we can do a great job.”

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Maresca: “I’m just here to do my job, install my football, my idea”

On whether he relishes the post-Guardiola challenge, Maresca drew a clear line in the sand that will define the entire tone of his tenure from the outset.

“First of all, for me, it’s important to make it clear that I’m here to do what I want, my job, in the way I want,” said Maresca. “I’m not here to try and copy someone, I’m just here to do my job, install my football, my idea, the way I see football. And then, if it’s more easy or more difficult, I don’t know – I think it’s a nice challenge, it’s a privilege for me here. I feel very happy to be here with you, so nothing more.”

Asked specifically what he might do differently to Guardiola, Maresca pushed back on the premise of the question itself, arguing that the concept of replication in management is flawed by design: “Every manager is different. Every manager can have some similar concepts, but at the end every manager is different; the way we approach the day-by-day, the way we approach the games. So we’ll see in which way we need to tweak some concepts, but I don’t think there are managers that just copy and paste another manager.”

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He closed with a line that neatly encapsulates his entire position on the matter: “It’s difficult, because I can copy and paste but I probably don’t see football in the same way than another manager. So that’s why I don’t believe in copy and paste.”

The distinction matters as much in practice as in principle. Sam Lee of The Athletic reported ahead of Maresca’s appointment that the new manager has no interest in being a figurehead for the entire club and will focus entirely on his role as head coach – a narrower, more defined remit than the all-encompassing role Guardiola occupied at the Etihad Stadium, and one that reflects a manager who knows precisely what he is and what he is not.

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What does Maresca’s Guardiola stance mean for Man City’s next chapter?

The recurring theme across every answer was confidence rooted in self-knowledge rather than bluster – a manager who has studied the challenge, consulted with his predecessor and arrived at a clear position on what this next phase of Manchester City’s history will look like under his watch.

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Maresca’s awareness that clubs “always struggle” after losing a long-serving manager of Guardiola’s stature was a significant admission – one that shows he understands the historical pattern without accepting it as his fate, and that he is approaching the job with open eyes rather than naive optimism.

The personal relationship between Maresca and Guardiola – close enough for a face-to-face meeting as recently as a week ago – also offers a degree of reassurance that the transition between the two regimes has been handled with care, respect and the kind of mutual goodwill that does not always characterise such moments in football.

Whether Maresca’s insistence on doing things his own way translates into the results and consistency that Elliot Anderson and Manchester City’s newly assembled squad deliver on the pitch is what will ultimately define his tenure – but the manager’s early words set out a clear, confident and distinctly personal vision for what comes next.