Leicester appoints Maresca as new manager

LONDON — Fresh from helping Manchester City win a treble of trophies, Enzo Maresca was hired as manager of relegated Leicester.

The Italian coach was part of Pep Guardiola’s backroom team at City, where he won the English Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup this season.

Maresca was signed to 2026.

“Enzo brings a combination of personality, method and ambition that meets extremely well with the footballing direction we are looking to take,” Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said.

“His philosophy has been built over a rich and varied career, including an outstanding education as a coach, and fits with the vision we have for this next chapter in Leicester City´s history.”

Maresca was previously an assistant to Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham and was also coach of Man City´s elite development squad and Italian team Parma.

He became part of Guardiola’s staff in 2022, helping City to the greatest season in its history, including winning the Champions League title last weekend.

He faces a considerable challenge at Leicester, the 2016 champion which is aiming to bounce straight back up to the Premier League after the heartache of relegation.

“At the beginning, the target is to play in the best way we can,” Maresca said according to AP. “From there, we can build, day by day, our idea and our philosophy, and the most important thing is to try to win games.”

Leicester has seen out-of-contract Youri Tielemans leave. The futures of other star players such as James Maddison and Harvey Barnes are uncertain.

Maresca took over from Dean Smith, who was hired for the final eight games after Brendan Rogers was fired. Smith left along with his coaches Craig Shakespeare and John Terry.