Pep pupil Maresca must put his own stamp on Chelsea

Pep Guardiola’s closest challenger last season was his former assistant, Mikel Arteta. The Bundesliga was won by a team managed by one of his former players, Xabi Alonso, just as the previous season’s LaLiga had been, in Xavi. The Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024 were claimed by Erik ten Hag, who was nicknamed “mini Pep” when he was in charge of Bayern Munich’s second team while the Catalan looked after the senior squad.

- RICHARD JOLLY

The Guardiolaisation of football is most apparent in England. The Manchester City manager’s greatest rival, and stylistic opposite, Jurgen Klopp is gone and his replacement is a selfprofessed Guardiola fan, in Arne Slot. Tottenham are under a graduate of the City Football Group, in Ange Postecoglou; so are England, temporarily, with Lee Carsley having arrived in Manchester in the same summer as Guardiola.

Then there is Chelsea. Enzo Maresca has been in charge of City’s Elite Development Squad (EDS). He was Guardiola’s assistant manager in the treble-winning season of 2022-23. He even looks a bit like Guardiola.

And while the new Chelsea manager’s group is vast – “If you see the depth of the squad, they have more than 40 players,” said Guardiola – there is a sizeable contingent of City old boys: this summer’s signing Tosin Adarabioyo; Cole Palmer, who played for Maresca in the EDS; Romeo Lavia, who did likewise and was particularly prominent in pre-season; and Raheem Sterling.

There will be a bit of City to Chelsea. “There is something of that but it remains Chelsea,” said Guardiola. “So of course a few players were here, they work really, really well. But it is the Chelsea team, not the Man City team with his ideas.”