Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca says both he and his Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta are “thankful” that they had the opportunity to work with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
Both men were assistant managers at different times during Guardiola’s reign at the Etihad and, speaking ahead of the London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal, Maresca said:
“Probably we both have to be thankful because we worked beside the one that I consider the best manager in the world. We’ve both been quite lucky to work with Pep.”
It is slightly ironic that Guardiola has essentially mentored the managers of two of City’s biggest rivals but neither apprentice has outwitted the master quite yet.
Guardiola is keen to take young coaches under his wing
While the 53-year-old does like to have an old-hand around the coaching setup too, such as Brian Kidd, Juanma Lillo and Rodolfo Borrell, the Catalan has helped several former players to become coaches.
In addition to Arteta and Maresca, Patrick Vieira has also spent time with City’s development squad over the years, and he would have had several conversations with Guardiola.
Who is the next City coach who could become a manager?
Not many will have heard of him but Carlos Vicens is among Guardiola’s current group of assistants. The 41-year-old started out coaching youth football in Spain before joining City in 2017.
After being an assistant manager for various youth teams, he was promoted to head coach of the Under 18s in 2020, helping them win the FA Youth Cup soon afterwards.
Just 11 months after taking the position with the Under 18s, Guardiola made Vicens an assistant manager in the senior setup. The 41-year-old has spent the last three and a half years in that role.
Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here
