New Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has officially taken charge at the Etihad after signing a three-year contract to replace Pep Guardiola. The Italian is already working behind the scenes, aiming to hit the ground running as he leads the club into a new era.
With the majority of his squad away at the World Cup, Maresca will be working with a skeleton playing staff in the early weeks of his tenure. Pre-season training is set to begin on Monday, July 20.
Maresca to Bring in Six Trusted Allies
Between now and then, Maresca is expected to confirm his new-look backroom team, bringing in six staff members. City lost more than Guardiola in the summer, with his right-hand man Manel Estiarte and fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura, who had been with him throughout his time in Manchester, also departing. Goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor left after an even longer stint, having joined under Manuel Pellegrini, while Pep Lijnders and assistant Kolo Toure departed after just 12 months at the club.
That leaves just one senior survivor on the backroom team: set-piece coach James French, who joined from Liverpool last summer. He is set to be joined by a host of new faces as Maresca assembles his tried and trusted inner circle.
The Six New Appointments
Roberto Vitiello was Maresca's assistant at Chelsea and Leicester and played alongside him at Palermo in Italy. Vitiello had a lengthy playing career in Italy, making nearly 500 senior appearances, the majority in Serie B.
Willy Caballero, the former City goalkeeper, looks likely to return to the Etihad as an assistant. He worked with Maresca at both his previous clubs in England and was a League Cup winner with City during a playing career that also included a spell at Malaga in Spain, where he played with Maresca.
Danny Walker, another former City staff member, could return as a first-team coach. Walker worked alongside Maresca in the Blues academy before moving to Peterborough United. Maresca later hired him at Leicester and Chelsea.
Michele De Bernardin (goalkeeper coach), Marcos Alvarez (fitness coach), and Javier Molina Caballero (analyst) first worked with Maresca at Parma and have since followed him to his past two jobs. All three are set to arrive at City.
All six are currently out of work after leaving Stamford Bridge when Maresca was sacked in January. They are expected to form City's new-look coaching staff alongside set-piece guru James French.
