Who is Enzo Maresca as the Italian manager looks set to join Leicester

Leicester have appointed Manchester City assistant coach Enzo Maresca as the club’s new manager.

The 43-year-old was part of Pep Guardiola’s side that led Manchester to a historic treble, including the Champions League when they defeated Inter Milan in the final.

Maresca takes over from Dean Smith after reaching an agreement with Leicester and will sign a three-year contract with the Foxes. The official announcement has yet to be made, but Mail Sport understands that the Foxes are no longer looking at alternatives.

His move to the King Power Stadium marks the end of his second spell as coach at the Manchester club, having previously worked for the Under-23 side.

Who is he now that the Italian is ready to take charge of the Foxes? Who has he led before? Mail Sport provides the answers below.

Maresca was part of Manchester City’s set-up that won the Champions League against Inter Milan

Who is Enzo Maresca?

Born in Pontecagnano Faiano, Maresca started his career as a player.

After playing for AC Milan and Cagliari at youth level, the Italian made his breakthrough at West Brom.

During two seasons with the Hawthornes, Maresca made over 40 appearances and scored five goals.

The Italian returned to Serie A with Juventus in 2000 and was subsequently loaned to Bologna.

He was then loaned to Piacenza ahead of the 2002–03 season. In that season he made 31 appearances and scored nine goals.

After being released by Juventus in 2004, he spent a season with Fiorentina before playing for Sevilla, Olympiacos, Malaga, Sampdoria, Palermo and Hellas Verona, among others.

The highlight of his playing career came in 2006 when he scored twice for Sevilla against Middlesbrough in the UEFA Cup Final.

His short stint with Verona would be his last season as a professional footballer. In 2017, the Italian confirmed his retirement from football.

Maresca represented Italy at youth level. However, was never capped at senior level.

Maresca played for Seville, Olympiacos, Malaga, Sampdoria and Palermo, among others

Who did he lead?

After ending his career at Hellas Verona in 2017, Maresca was appointed assistant manager at Ascoli.

He would then spend a season with Sevilla and a year with West Ham of the Premier League before being appointed head coach of Manchester City’s development side in 2020.

That season he would go on to win the club’s first ever Premier League 2 title with Manchester and 14 points ahead of runners-up Chelsea.

During his season with the Development Squad, the Italian would be offered a full-time role with Serie B side Parma.

The Italian side were relegated from the top division the season before, finishing on a low of 20 points.

Maresca was tasked with getting the side back into Serie A. In a selection that included Gianluigi Buffon, the Italian manager failed to impress.

After 14 games in charge of the club, Maresca was sacked in November, having won just four games.

While his record at Parma won’t win over many Leicester fans, the Italian’s style of play for Manchester City’s development side caught the attention of many fans.

Enzo Maresca enjoyed a successful spell with the Manchester City Development Squad before joining Parma in 2021

The side was known for their attacking play, scoring 79 goals in 24 games. Maresca adopted a 4-1-4-1 formation, but would change to 4-3-3 when his side attacked.

In June 2022, the Italian was appointed assistant coach to Pep Guardiola after replacing Juanma Lillo, who became manager of Al-Sadd.

During the 2022–23 season, Maresca was a key member of their coaching line-up, helping to lead the club to their third consecutive league title, as well as an FA Cup as they defeated rivals Manchester United in the final.

The Italian was also in the dugout for Manchester City’s Champions League victory as they beat Inter Milan in the final.