It’s a privilege to succeed Guardiola at Man City – Maresca

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Enzo Maresca

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Enzo Maresca said Friday it is a “privilege” to follow Pep Guardiola as manager of Manchester City.

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Former Chelsea and Leicester boss Maresca was named as Guardiola’s successor after the Catalan stepped down at the end of last season, having won 20 trophies during a superbly successful 10-year spell at the Etihad Stadium.

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“First of all, I have to say that it’s a privilege,” said the Italian in his first press conference as City boss.

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“I’ve said many times that I consider Pep probably the best coach in the world in the last 20, 25 years. But again, it’s a challenge. It’s nice. It’s a privilege.”

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Many clubs have struggled following the exit of serial trophy-winning managers, with City’s local rivals Manchester United falling from the summit of the English game following the retirement of Alex Ferguson in 2013.

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Maresca believes City are well set-up to continue as one of the leading powers in the Premier League.

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“I think the organisation is the main thing,” he said. “They (City) had three managers in 17 years. This is not normal, it doesn’t happen often.

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“So this is probably one of the things that I’m confident that we can do a great job.”

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AFP

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