Enzo Maresca posted “Time to breathe. Time to analyse. Time to learn” on Instagram about half an hour before the charges leak arrived on Friday afternoon, accompanying the words with a picture of his feet and a quote from Socrates about knowing nothing.
This was the latest bold move from a manager who has refused to conform to expectation in any of his management jobs to date. Having spoken out against the Leicester board and then fallen out very publicly with Chelsea bosses, the Manchester City manager spoke on one of the biggest issues in football when it would have been far easier to have been silent.
Guardiola's Legacy and Loyalty
Maresca's position was described as unenviable simply by following on from Pep Guardiola trying to sustain success on the football pitch. Now he will be peppered with questions on a regular basis about something that has even less to do with him than it did Guardiola.
Guardiola won huge credit with City fans with his passionate defences of the club over first the UEFA investigation and then the Premier League charges. Having said in 2020 that he would walk away from the club if he had been lied to, he went above and beyond defending the institution three years later and said he would go down with the club to the third division if that was their punishment.
City's manager was loyal to his friends and employers, and took them at their word - the same words that chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has used in the last week to reiterate that City are not guilty of the serious offences they have been accused of. The Catalan was also defending his own legacy though, given they are his achievements in the last 10 years that are now being challenged for legitimacy.
Maresca's Choice Ahead
Aside from his coaching role for the Treble season, Maresca is not as wedded to City's past. He said on taking the job that he had received assurances over the charges, yet he could not be blamed if he wanted to wash his hands of the matter and not accept being a spokesperson for something that he has basically no connection to; the Italian was still playing football for the first nine of 10 years that City are in the dock over.
Maresca has a big choice to make as time ticks down to a press conference ahead of the Liverpool game that will likely feature very few questions about the game. He is perfectly entitled to shut down all talk and say he isn't in a position to answer on many things, and before he joined those close to him made clear he did not share Guardiola's passion for expanding on non-football topics.
However, there is a sense that these jobs dictate the people rather than the other way around and the manager must cope with the reality of whatever comes up. Walking into the City job, there was always the possibility that this awkwardness would rear its head.
Vocal Start and Fan Expectations
What's more, as he did last week, Maresca has already actively walked into more situations than he needed to as City boss. Before the derby he backed up Elliot Anderson's jibe about City being kings of Manchester, then he ran down the Old Trafford touchline celebrating after masterminding a win with 10 men, and finally when asked about the controversial winner Maresca said that it's football and raised United's dodgy goal against City in 2023 to make his point.
City fans will be tuning in a week on Friday as they did for Guardiola's first words after previous bombshells, anxious for any comfort that can be offered. Maresca doesn't have to say anything - and there are far more relevant people who should speak up to supporters at the right moment - but the new City boss has been more vocal than expected so far.
