Maresca's City: House Music, High Lines and a Perfect Start
Enzo Maresca has made a habit of winning since taking over from Pep Guardiola, and he's brought his own soundtrack with him.
Four matches, four wins. The Italian's tenure at the Etihad couldn't have started much better, with City having swept aside Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Coventry City before Erling Haaland's brace secured a 2-0 win at FC Porto on matchweek one of the Champions League's league phase.
It's a start that has left only Arsenal for company at the top of the early Premier League table, with the two sides the only teams to have won all of their opening fixtures. Newly-promoted Hull City, meanwhile, are the sole top-flight side yet to concede a goal. Make of that what you will.
The changes at City haven't been limited to results. The squad has undergone significant surgery in every department, midfield especially, and Maresca's fingerprints are already visible on the training pitch. A possession-first philosophy remains, as you'd expect, but there's been a clear shift towards set-piece work, a higher defensive line, wider wingers, and a support structure designed to help Gianluigi Donnarumma when building from the back.
Then there's the music.
UEFA granted broadcast media access to the opening 15 minutes of City's Champions League session this week, and what they saw—and heard—prompted questions. Maresca was quizzed on the decision to pump music through the City Football Academy during first-team training.
"It's something I had in Leicester, in Chelsea, and I introduced here," he said. "I think the players with music are more happy and can work better, it's just for that."
And who picks the playlist? Not the manager, as it turns out.
"Ah, no! The players decide."
Maresca, for his part, has his own preferences. "I like house music! Boom, boom, boom!" he added, which is either a glimpse into the soul of a modern football coach or a man who has spent too long in nightclubs. Probably both.
Matheus Nunes, seated alongside Maresca during the pre-match press conference ahead of the Porto clash, was more diplomatic. "I like it. Why not? All of them [types of music]. They want to be DJs," he said, which suggests the dressing room has embraced the new regime with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
The music is a small detail, but it's part of a wider picture of a manager stamping his authority on a squad in transition. Significant changes have been made across the first-team, and the early results suggest the players are buying in—whether they're fans of house music or not.
Next up is a trip to Old Trafford to face Michael Carrick's Manchester United in the first derby of the Maresca era. A win there would keep City level with Arsenal at the top and further cement the sense that the post-Guardiola transition is going rather smoothly.
For now, the mood at the City Football Academy is upbeat, the music is loud, and the wins are coming. Maresca wouldn't have it any other way.