Gvardiol: Maresca perfect as Guardiola’s Man City replacement

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Josko Gvardiol believes Enzo Maresca is “the perfect one” for Manchester City to take over from Pep Guardiola.

Maresca was named as City’s new boss in June, stepping in to succeed Guardiola, who stepped down after a glittering, trophy-laden decade in charge at the Etihad Stadium.

The Italian has signed a three-year deal with City and comes into the role having led Chelsea to the Conference League and Club World Cup titles in 2025.

Maresca’s first match in charge came against Inter in Hong Kong during City’s pre-season tour, though they lost on penalties following a 1-1 draw in normal time.

Gvardiol is predicting big things for City under Maresca, though, and has full confidence he can keep them at the top.

“The level is that high, and he has been chosen with reason as the manager,” said Gvardiol, who played the first half of the friendly.

“I think he has a quality, has some new ideas, and also we need to see what we are going to do [with] the style of [play], the football we are going to play and the tactics.

“I think he is a perfect one, but of course, it takes time. It’s something totally new; it’s not easy to change the manager, so we will take time.

“It’s our job to help him as much as possible and also to listen, to try to adapt as quickly as possible.

“I met him, we spoke a little bit about my injury [and] also how we played, how I played before with Pep, and that’s it, more or less.”

The highlights from our first pre-season fixture against Inter pic.twitter.com/0Fq09EFHe6

— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 1, 2026

Guardiola announced he would be leaving City during the last week of the 2025-26 season, following a campaign of speculation over his future.

While the Spaniard had publicly stated he did not plan to leave, that decision changed late on, and strong reports emerged days before the decision was confirmed.

Gvardiol conceded Guardiola could have made the decision sooner, but he believes the way it played out benefited the team more.

“Some would say he could have told us earlier, some would say not,” he added.

“I think it was perfect timing because it can affect you mentally if he would have said it earlier.

“We knew at some point he has to tell us. He has been here for 10 years, and it is time to rest a little bit and retire. We could feel it.

“[The 2024-25 season] he was in between, about to leave, then he stayed – great because it was another season to try to win something. Two seasons ago, we struggled, 13 games without winning.

“Unfortunately, it was time [for him] to go, but who knows with him, maybe after six months when he gets the energy back.”

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