Southampton vs Leicester City

we march on » SAINTS » 43
THE BOSS:
Enzo Maresca
Leicester appointed Manchester
City assistant coach Enzo
Maresca as their manager in
June. The 43-year-old Italian
joined the Foxes just six days
after City’s Champions League
final win. Maresca has had a
long association with English
football during an eclectic
playing and coaching career. He
was a teenage midfielder when
he joined West Bromwich Albion,
before he left for Juventus, later
playing in Spain with Sevilla,
where he won five trophies.
Maresca then had spells at
Olympiakos in Greece, back
in Spain with Malaga before
ending his playing days in Italy’s
Serie B with Hellas Verona in
2017. His coaching career has
been just as diverse, with roles at
Ascoli, Sevilla, West Ham United
and Manchester City’s Under-
23s. His first experience as a
first-team manager lasted just
180 days at Parma as they were
relegated from Serie A, but he
returned to the Etihad Stadium
in the summer of 2022 to help
City win the Premier League, FA
Cup and Champions League.
ONE TO WATCH:
Jannik
Vestergaard
Jannik Vestergaard wasn’t
expecting to still be at Leicester
by the time the transfer deadline
passed, let alone play in every
Championship game so far
this season. The defender was
out of favour under Brendan
Rodgers but has enjoyed a new
lease of life under Enzo Maresca
– although the return of Conor
Coady from injury could give
the boss a selection headache.
“I honestly didn’t think a few
months ago that I’d be at
Leicester now,” Vestergaard
said. “Our new manager has a
positive style of play with much
more possession. He has a clear
philosophy, and more work is
being done with tactics.” Despite
being signed by Rodgers from
Southampton, Vestergaard’s
relationship with the Northern
Irishman deteriorated, and
he was forced to train alone
in March. He had arrived at
the King Power in August 2021,
having featured 79 times for
Saints following his move from
Borussia Mönchengladbach in
the summer of 2018.