Inside Enzo Maresca's close relationship with his 'football dad' Manuel Pellegrini as pair face off in Europa Conference League final
Football's latest master and apprentice relationship that you hadn't heard of has come into the spotlight - as Enzo Maresca 's Chelsea face off against Manuel Pelligrini's Real Betis in the Conference League final on Wednesday.
The pair's close relationship began in 2011 when Pelligrini signed Maresca at Malaga. It didn't take long for Pelligrini to notice more than just a good midfielder in the Italian.
'Enzo played for me at Malaga and I was immediately impressed with the way he looked at the game in great detail,' Pelligrini said.
Their partnership blossomed, and the result was a standout season for both. Malaga achieved Champions League qualification for the first time in the club's history; Maresca was a standout performer for Pellegrini throughout the campaign.
'Manuel was both the coach and the person who convinced me to try and be a coach myself when I finished playing,' Maresca told the Manchester City website in 2020.
'I was still working as a player with him at Malaga and one day, during a chat with him, he said to me: "You have to try to become a coach because I think you think you can become a good coach."
'It was just a chat - but from that day onwards I started to think that maybe I did have a future as a coach.'
While Pellegrini enjoyed a successful period with City, Maresca's playing career began to tail off, making only 72 appearances over his next five seasons. His coaching career began almost immediately after retirement, taking backroom roles at Serie B club Ascoli, and Sevilla, within a year of hanging up his boots.
When Pelligrini was replaced by Guardiola at City, Maresca publicly supported him. 'For me, Pelligrini is one of the best coaches in Europe. He'll find another job - I'm not worried about that,' he told the BBC in 2016.
Pelligrini did find another job - at West Ham - and immediately appointed Maresca to be his assistant. The Chilean's tenure in charge was lackluster at best; he only managed a season and a half before a mid-season dismissal as the Hammers boss.
But it was here that Maresca's stock as a coach began to rise. He was highly regarded around the club; legend Mark Noble described his training sessions to the club hierarchy as 'different class'. He was credited with devising the tactics for Pelligrini before games, including for West Ham's impressive 1-0 victory away at Stamford Bridge. It was a win that managed to keep his mentor in the job for another three weeks. Specualtion arose that Maresca could soon become the West Ham manager himself.
'He'll go to the very top. We all used to talk about it. The players had no doubt he would develop into one of the best coaches around,' said then-Hammers winger Robert Snodgrass. 'At West Ham it was right at the start of his coaching journey – but he was a mastermind.'
Snodgrass saw his prediction come true when Maresca was appointed Chelsea boss at the beginning of this season. The Conference League marked the first possible meeting for the pair. A matchup in the final was something Pellegrini dreamt about earlier in the campaign.
'I sent him a message telling him that we would see you in the final,' Pelligrini told Football Espana after the knockout stage draw in February.
'I didn't care who the opponent was. I wish it hadn't been Chelsea more than anything because of the friendship I have with Enzo Maresca. If we meet in the final, all the better.'
Maresca echoed Pelligrini's sentiment at the Conference League final media day this week.
'I spoke with Manuel yesterday, to be honest, because we are so close. I see him as a professional Dad.'
Maresca will be hoping he is the student who can outwit the teacher when he faces off against his dear friend in the opposite dugout on Wednesday night.
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