This summer, the Manchester City dressing room has been introspective, grappling with thoughts of change and continuity as they navigate an evolving landscape. With leadership transitions afoot, questions about their future loom large.
Privately, players have been pondering the burden of expectations, wondering what achievements should be deemed feasible. Despite challenges in the past two seasons, Pep Guardiola’s squad managed to clinch Champions League spots, win both domestic cup trophies, and fiercely contest Arsenal until the final stages of the league title chase.
Enzo Maresca is now leading the charge — repeating past successes is evidently anticipated.
“There are times when you must endure lean periods to achieve victory. Perhaps our journey will differ; only time will tell. The club is worthy of our utmost effort,” reflects a determined voice from within the team.
As City ventures into this new era, they do so with heightened awareness of past lessons and future possibilities. The impending unknown is a thrilling prospect, sparking curiosity and anticipation as they prepare to face Arsenal for the Community Shield in Cardiff this Sunday.
Enzo Maresca’s arrival is an unknown. An exciting unknown, an unknown that provokes intrigue
The Italian knows as well as anyone what the expectation levels are at Manchester City, having been on Pep Guardiola’s staff for the Treble-winning campaign
The Shield is a piece of silverware that the coaches all count towards their various hauls, and Maresca is no different, but one that ultimately does not hold a great deal of weight.
Those who have been with the new manager during pre-season appeared ready for competitive action when beating Atletico Madrid 3-1 in Seoul last weekend, showcasing the sort of verve in the final third that the Italian has been preaching during hour-long sessions in the searing heat. He has been encouraged by steadily improving displays, believing it is vindicating the ideas being imparted during training.
They had been struggling to breathe in South Korea days earlier during a friendly against the K-League All Stars. Staff members remarked between themselves afterwards that half the team could barely cope with the heat, officially 40°C but feeling like 45.
Josko Gvardiol had to be propped up by a team-mate at one point before going down on his haunches. Staff watching from the stands kept cool with a handheld electric fan in each hand. Merely attending was sweat inducing, let alone playing.
There will be a school of thought that those conditions can accelerate fitness regimes and proof of that or otherwise will soon become evident. Maresca had to be creative with the timings of his sessions so as to best avoid the real extremities, wrestling with either early morning or evening starts at the Mokdong Stadium – lacking shade, home to second division football and, somewhat ironically, often an ice rink.
The winters are cold in that part of the world but much the opposite problem here, with Maresca plumping for 7pm training over 9am. The rationale was that players sleep so poorly in Asia due to the time difference that mornings were effectively redundant anyway. In the end, the difference in temperature appeared negligible.
To illustrate the obsession of the man now leading City, and who probably evokes memories of his predecessor, a thought popped into the head of Maresca before a training session open to the public in Hong Kong.
They would be running through how to press Inter in a friendly 24 hours later, working on team shape as he attempted to quickly implement his ideas. The idea that the opposition could be watching and taking notes did briefly percolate. That was until he realised that none of it matters.
Staff members remarked after a friendly against the K-League All Stars in Seoul that half the team could barely cope with the heat, officially 40°C but feeling like 45
Maresca opted for evening training sessions as players sleep so poorly in Asia due to the time difference that mornings were effectively redundant anyway
City’s red-eye arrived home on Monday morning and it has been a long wait for Maresca to welcome the entire squad back, with six only returning this week from the World Cup.
One of them, Rodri, is expected to be the most high-profile departure over the coming weeks and the City manager needs to reshape his leadership quartet, with only Ruben Dias and Erling Haaland left from last year.
They head for the Principality Stadium with questions over the make-up of the squad and how much change will take hold before the transfer window (or ‘window transfer’, as Maresca endearingly calls it) shuts. Uncertainty lingers as to how many go and how many join.
In that sense, the Maresca era beginning off the back of a major international tournament is not perfect, given that transfers are pushed back until after mandatory breaks.
The lone major signing so far, £116million Elliot Anderson, would fit the mould of this City or the last one, though, which points to a more seamless transition than perhaps occurs elsewhere.
‘When you change a manager and go for a new one, it’s good to go for a manager with a similar idea,’ Maresca said. ‘That way, with the players you have and the players you recruited, they more or less have the same style. Like with the Elliot one, even though I was not here, he still fits in.’
Players are describing the ideas as similar but different. They will defend differently, for starters. There will be less tactical tinkering, more wedded to the principal concept. ‘What he wants is really clear,’ said Nico Gonzalez. ‘The structure is really clear.’
If Anderson fits effortlessly, work is going on behind the scenes to make sure Gianluigi Donnarumma does as well, now wearing the No1 shirt after James Trafford’s move to Leeds United. Distribution is not the finest part of his game and City are looking at solutions to help their goalkeeper contribute on the ball and not ask for anything overly elaborate.
The lone major signing so far, £116million Elliot Anderson, would fit the mould of this City or the last one, though, which points to a more seamless transition than perhaps occurs elsewhere
Gianluigi Donnarumma has been doing extra work at the end of sessions with coaches Richard Wright and Michele De Bernardin, relentlessly clipping 30 or 40-yard balls towards wide areas
The real stuff begins on Sunday and Maresca has no time to waste. For him, silverware is silverware
One of those ideas is to build up with three defenders rather than two, giving more security for possible mistakes and more options when passing.
Donnarumma has been doing extra work at the end of sessions with coaches Richard Wright and Michele De Bernardin, relentlessly clipping 30 or 40-yard balls towards wide areas. Maresca had his head in his hands when one simple pass was given straight to Atletico inside City’s own third on Sunday. Typically, Donnarumma bailed himself out.
Extra sessions were part of Maresca’s remit when he was assistant to Guardiola during the Treble campaign. Notably he worked on specifics with Rico Lewis and Phil Foden and the latter is partial to games with the manager after sessions have ended now.
‘From the first week, the messaging was very direct, very honest,’ Lewis said. It needs to be. The real stuff begins on Sunday and Maresca has no time to waste. For him, silverware is silverware.