Enzo Maresca reveals Premier League rival tried to hijack Chelsea move and explains Pep Guardiola comparison he hates

ENZO MARESCA does not get annoyed by comparisons with Pep Guardiola, he just does not like the fact they are lookalikes.

The new Chelsea manager has been dubbed Pep 2.0 or Diet Pep having moved into management from being Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.

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Maresca was Pep’s assistant at Man City[/caption]

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But he insists he has his own style of management[/caption]

Maresca has his own approach and ideas, but sitting in a cigar lounge at the luxurious St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta, the Italian admits the one glaring similarity which will always draw comparisons – one that he would love to change.

He said: “I always say the same thing, I have four kids, a mum and a dad, we are different.”

Then, pointing at this reporter, continued: “The only thing is, I would like to be more like you, with lots of hair!

“Even my wife, she would love that. I know that. But unfortunately, I am like this, so everyone is thinking [we are the same].

“But is it something annoying? No.

“Because in the end, I have my kids, I have my family.

“I have to say that, if I am where I am now, for sure it’s because of him. Because I fell in love with that idea.

“I was 28, 29. I faced Barcelona. Inside the pitch, I realised that it was not the same playing against another team. Since that time, I’ve fallen in love with that idea.”

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That idea, the possession based attacking approach Guardiola and Maresca adopt, is why he is sat on a leather sofa in the United States now.

After extraordinary success with Leicester City, winning the Championship in his first season as a manager in English football, the family holiday to Marbella was not a quiet one.

Even before Chelsea called, another top Premier League side approached – and tried again just as the deal with the Blues was close.

The Italian will not say who, though Liverpool, Brighton and West Ham all made changes this summer while Manchester United interviewed a number of coaches.

He revealed: “To be honest since I finished with Leicester, it was after a few days, a few weeks, Chelsea contacted me.

“But there was also another important club that contacted me so the summer has been busy.

“I decided for Chelsea, first of all because Chelsea were more aggressive. After two or three meetings they were clear.

“The other one was just one or two approaches and when they saw Chelsea, they asked me: ‘Do we still have time or is it too late?’

“But by then I had already taken my decision.”

Everyone now wants a slice of that Guardiola-style football, but Maresca has an early warning for all potential employers.

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Maresca says he plays a possession based style but his tactics have their own qualities[/caption]

He said: “What I don’t like is people or the club expecting the same football that City is doing.

“When I joined Leicester they asked me: ‘We want to change the style and we want to play the same way that City play’.

“I told them: ‘We don’t have the same players, and I am not the same manager.’

“The same thing when I met Chelsea. I said: ‘The idea is that idea, but probably we need time because the players also need to understand what way we want to play and it’s a bit different.’

“This is something that I struggle a little bit with sometimes when I see something.

“People say: ‘Because he’s bald and with a beard, he wants to play the same.’ No, I don’t want to.

“I try to play the way that we want to play, that is probably close in that way because I fell in love with that idea, but that does not mean it is exactly the same way.”

While Guardiola wished his former assistant well and the two have been speaking while both on tour in the States, the City boss is not Maresca’s only inspiration.

He names Carlo Ancelotti and Manuel Pellegrini, who he worked under as an assistant at West Ham, as influences due to their man management style.

There has also been a call to ex-Chelsea and Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri after taking both jobs, while there is an unusual connection to another former Blues manager.

Maresca said: “When I was 18, I joined West Brom and I was living very close to Graham Potter‘s house.

“I didn’t have a driving license so he would take me to training every morning. He was like my taxi.

“When I meet him again when he was at Brighton or Chelsea we always have fun, joke saying: ‘You were my driver man!'”

Maresca met with former team-mate Potter outside of work during last season – but anything his former team-mate said about working for Chelsea and under this ownership did not put him off.

The new man loves the look of this young squad and feels they are suited to his style, but knows they will need time and patience.

He added: “I don’t have any doubt that we can have an impact.
“Now, it’s always the same question. It’s a matter of time, you know. But even at Leicester, at the beginning, it’s a completely different idea, a different concept.”

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He revealed former Chelsea boss Graham Potter used to drive him to training[/caption]

Maresca has been working his squad hard during their pre-season tour as they look to make that impact, but there have been light moments too as new arrivals stand up and sing their initiation song. Just not all of the new arrivals.

He said: “Everyone has to do that, unless they’re a manager.
“Because when I signed the contract with Chelsea, they said the managers are not going to sing!”

One thing could change that policy, however – considering fellow Italian Antonio Conte sang ‘Malafemmena’ as his team went on to win the title.

Maresca added: “If someone said that singing would make us win the title, then I am going to sing every night.”

He will lean more on his style and approach than vocal cords to bring success, but should a trophy or two arrive then – just like Guardiola – there is only one way he will celebrate, with a Partagas No2 Cuban cigar.

He said: “I love cigars, yes. I love Partagas because it’s from my dad, it’s something from the family.”