Enzo Maresca jumped ship from the directionless Chelsea to Manchester City to replace Pep Guardiola.
While the Italian tactician will be bashed for abandoning his troops mid-season, he opted for a more prominent, modern, and exciting project, something anyone would do in their day-to-day lives.
No one turns down an opportunity at IBM to continue at a start-up that has refused to take off for years and is quietly eating itself from the inside. Cut the man some slack.
The new Man City boss now takes on the unenviable task of replacing arguably the greatest manager of the 21st century.
Maresca will get everything he needs to succeed, but what exactly counts as success for City in this new era under Maresca?
Can Man City win the Premier League?
Man City finished runners-up to Arsenal in the Premier League at the end of last term following an exciting battle.
The Cityzens had gotten the better of Arsenal for three successive seasons before the Gunners ended their over two-decade wait for a league title.
Maresca joins with hopes of bringing the title back to the Etihad Stadium, and Arsenal will likely provide the sternest challenge to that bid.
Manchester United and Michael Carrick are also optimistic about mounting a title challenge, while Andoni Iraola is also eyeing the same goal with Liverpool.
With Erling Braut Haaland and the array of top-class players supporting him, Man City must signal to Arsenal that they are in it to win it and won’t give them a free run.
While winning the Premier League might not be the target for Maresca’s first season, they must show they can stay in the upper echelon.
Is another Champions League title possible?
Real Madrid sent Man City packing from the Champions League in the round of 16 last term.
The Cityzens broke their duck in 2023 and will be pushing for another title, but it remains to be seen if they can mount a serious challenge.
Maresca is not very experienced in Europe’s premier competition, but has shown he can handle himself in tournament formats.
He spearheaded Chelsea’s Conference League and Club World Cup titles last year and will be eyeing similar success in Manchester.
The Champions League must be part of the long-term vision, but it should never be the target for Man City or any other club, for that matter.
Perform consistently in the league and the Champions League title will follow.
We’ve seen this phenomenon with Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Man City. Meanwhile, clubs that chase Champions League success, like Juventus, tend to fail in their bids.
City should keep their focus on competing in the league, and that second Champions League title will come.
Can Maresca make his mark in the FA Cup and EFL Cup?
Maresca should also place genuine emphasis on the domestic cups.
Man City are the reigning holders of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and retaining at least one of them would represent a significant achievement in his debut campaign.
Guardiola never treated those competitions as an inconvenience.
He used them to build momentum, maintain a winning culture, and ensure silverware kept flowing even when the Premier League or Champions League proved elusive.
That mentality helped define City’s era of dominance.
Maresca would be wise to adopt the same approach rather than rotating excessively or sacrificing cup runs.
Lifting either trophy would provide an ideal soft landing as he establishes his own identity at the Etihad Stadium.
It would buy goodwill from supporters and reinforce the winning standards Guardiola leaves behind.
Also, it demonstrates that City remain a club capable of delivering trophies regardless of who occupies the dugout.