Enzo Maresca

Vincenzo 'Enzo' Maresca (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛntso maˈreska]; born 10 February 1980) is an Italian former footballer who played as a midfielder, and was most recently an assistant coach for Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham United.

Enzo Maresca
Personal information
Full name Vincenzo Maresca
Date of birth (1980-02-10) 10 February 1980
Place of birth Pontecagnano Faiano, Italy
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1991–1994 Milan
1994–1998 Cagliari
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2000 West Bromwich Albion 47 (5)
2000–2004 Juventus 37 (4)
2000–2001 → Bologna (loan) 23 (0)
2002–2003 → Piacenza (loan) 31 (9)
2004–2005 Fiorentina 25 (5)
2005–2009 Sevilla 96 (13)
2009–2010 Olympiacos 24 (5)
2011–2012 Málaga 39 (4)
2012–2014 Sampdoria 17 (3)
2014–2016 Palermo 47 (1)
2016–2017 Verona 8 (0)
Total 394 (49)
National team
1995 Italy U15 5 (0)
1995 Italy U16 1 (0)
1998 Italy U17 1 (1)
1998–1999 Italy U18 12 (4)
1999–2000 Italy U20 11 (6)
2000–2002 Italy U21 15 (2)
Teams managed
2017 Ascoli (assistant)
2017–2018 Sevilla (assistant)
2018–2019 West Ham United (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

After starting out at West Bromwich Albion in 1998, he went on to play for several clubs in his country, including Juventus, who loaned him twice for the duration of his contract, and with whom he won the league title in 2002. After being released in 2004, he went to play one season with Fiorentina; he then resumed his career in La Liga with Sevilla (where he remained for four years) and Málaga, appearing in 134 games and scoring 17 goals in the competition whilst winning five major titles with the former side; in between his two spells in Spain he also spent one year in Greece with Olympiacos, later returning to Italy in 2012, where he played until his retirement in 2017, totalling 140 appearances and 17 goals in Serie A.

Maresca represented Italy at youth level, including the Italy under-21 team, but was never capped at senior level.

Club career

Early years

Born in Pontecagnano Faiano, Province of Salerno, Maresca started playing football at the age of 11 with A.C. Milan, joining Cagliari Calcio after three years.

He made his senior debut with West Bromwich Albion in a 0–2 home defeat against Bradford City on 20 September 1998, played two incomplete seasons with the English club in the Football League First Division.[1]

Juventus

In January 2000, Maresca moved back to Italy and joined Juventus F.C. in a transfer worth £4.3 million, a club record sale for Albion at the time.[2] He played in only one Serie A game until the end of the season.

For two of the following three seasons, Maresca was loaned to fellow league teams Bologna F.C. 1909 and Piacenza Calcio – co-ownershp deal in the latter case – scoring nine goals in 2002–03 but suffering team relegation. During the previous campaign, he notably netted an important equaliser in the Derby della mole return leg, against neighbouring Torino FC; he attracted controversy, however, when he celebrated the goal by mimicking Torino's Marco Ferrante's earlier "Bull-horn" goal celebration (the bull being a club symbol as it is Turin's coat of arms, and the side also being known in its contracted form as "Toro", bull in Italian).[3] Juventus subsequently bought the remaining 50% of his rights for €2.6 million.[4]

Fiorentina

In the 2004 summer, ACF Fiorentina signed Maresca along with Fabrizio Miccoli and Giorgio Chiellini for €13 million, with Juventus holding half of the players' rights. He made his official debut on 12 September, playing 60 minutes in a 0–1 away loss against A.S. Roma.

At the end of the season, with the Viola narrowly avoiding top level relegation, Juventus bought back all three for about €6.7 million in a blind auction between the clubs.[5] Maresca's cost was of only about €7,000,[6] but an additional €420,000 agent fee in order to keep the player was also involved.

Sevilla

On 16 July 2005, Maresca moved to Sevilla FC in Spain, for a transfer fee of €2.5 million and four years.[7] He quickly emerged as a key player for his new club, and finished his first season in La Liga with 29 games and eight goals, adding 11/3 in the side's victorious campaign in the UEFA Cup, including two in the final against Middlesbrough (4–0) where he was also named Man of the match,[8] donating the €10,000 prize money to the San Juan de Dios hospital in Seville.[9]

Maresca played 45 minutes in the 2007 UEFA Cup Final in Glasgow's Hampden Park, as Sevilla successfully defended its European title, against RCD Espanyol.[10] He appeared in an average of 22 league matches in his last three years combined.

Olympiacos

On 13 July 2009, Maresca transferred to Olympiacos F.C. from Greece in a three-year deal.[11] He scored in his Superleague debut, a 2–0 win at Larissa FC, and appeared regularly during the 2009–10 campaign as the Piraeus-based club finished in second position.

Málaga

After terminating his contract with Olympiacos in August 2010, Maresca trained with former club Fiorentina in order to maintain match fitness. On 7 December, it was announced that he had been in talks with Málaga CF; after undergoing a medical examination, he signed with the Andalusians until June 2012.[12]

Maresca made his league debut for his new team on 8 January 2011, playing 57 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Athletic Bilbao.[13] On 7 May, he contributed with one goal to the team's 3–0 success at Atlético Madrid.[14]

Maresca appeared in 19 matches in 2011–12 (nine starts, two goals[15][16]) as his team finished in fourth position and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history.

Return to Italy

On 2 July 2012, as his contract was about to expire, Maresca signed a new one-year link with Málaga.[17] On 30 August, however, he returned to his country after seven years, joining U.C. Sampdoria for free.[18]

Maresca scored his second goal of the season through a bicycle kick, but in a 1–2 home loss against Atalanta B.C. on 4 November 2012.[19] In January 2014, after having featured rarely in the first half of the new campaign, he agreed on a return to the Serie B and joined league leaders U.S. Città di Palermo, who were in need of a playmaker.[20] After contributing to the team's championship conquest,[21] on 15 September 2014 he underwent an operation due to acute appendicitis,[22] and the following January he signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until 2016.[23]

On 15 May 2016, in the last matchday, Maresca scored in a 3–2 home win over Hellas Verona F.C. to help save his team from relegation.[24] In September, the free agent joined the opposition who in turn had dropped down a level.[25]

On 13 January 2017, Maresca terminated his contract with Verona.[26] On 10 February, the day of his 37th birthday, he announced his retirement via his personal Instagram profile, after a footballing career which spanned nearly twenty years.[27]

International career

Maresca was selected by the Italy under-20 team for the 2000 Toulon Tournament, and finished runner-up with the under-18s in the 1999 UEFA European Championship.

He also represented the under-21 side for two years between 2000 and 2002, although he missed the 2002 UEFA European Championship tournament in Switzerland due to injury as the nation went on to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.[28] Despite his club success, in particular during his time with Sevilla, he was never capped at full level.

Style of play

A versatile, consistent, energetic and hardworking player, Maresca was capable of playing anywhere in midfield;[29][30][31] although he was often deployed as a deep-lying playmaker, due to his ability to orchestrate his team's offensive moves and create goalscoring opportunities, his preferred position was in a box-to-box role, either as a central or attacking midfielder, where he often demonstrated his offensive capabilities, eye for goal and adeptness at making late attacking runs into the penalty area. He was also capable of playing as a mezzala.[29][32][33][34][35][36] A quick, dynamic and creative player, with good movement, technique and composure on the ball, he possessed good vision, awareness, tactical intelligence and passing ability;[29][30][31][34][37] due to his physical and mental attributes, as well as his stamina, tenacity and work-rate, he was also competent defensively.[29][30][31][37][38][39][40]

Because of his talent and wide range of skills, Maresca's former Fiorentina manager Emiliano Mondonico described him as a "complete player".[29]

Managerial career

On 1 June 2017, Maresca was unveiled as part of the non-playing staff of second division club Ascoli Picchio F.C. 1898 for the upcoming season.[41] As he did not have the required coaching badges by the time of the hiring, he was officially appointed as assistant to new head coach Fulvio Fiorin,[42] formerly a youth manager and scout for Milan.[43]

Honours

Club

Juventus[44]

Sevilla[44]

Palermo[27]

References
  1. "Sporting Digest: Football". The Independent. 22 September 1998. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  2. "Albion's timeline". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
  3. "Gol, nervi tesi ed emozioni il derby ferma la Juve" [Goals, bundle of nerves and excitement Juve closes derby] (in Italian). La Repubblica. 24 February 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  4. Reports and financial statements at 30 June 2003 Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine; Juventus FC, 2003
  5. Reports and financial statements at 30 June 2005 Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine; Juventus FC, 2005
  6. "Six-monthly report at 31 December 2005" (PDF). Juventus FC. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  7. Maresca makes Sevilla move; UEFA.com, 16 July 2005
  8. Middlesbrough 0–4 Sevilla; BBC Sport, 10 May 2006
  9. Enzo Maresca fue elegido mejor jugador de la final (Enzo Maresca chosen final MVP); Marca, 10 May 2006 (in Spanish)
  10. "Palop ensures cup joy for Sevilla". UEFA.com. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  11. "Announcement". Olympiakos F.C. 13 July 2009. Archived from the original on 13 July 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  12. Maresca ficha por el Málaga (Maresca signs for Málaga); Diario AS, 8 December 2010 (in Spanish)
  13. "Martinez leaves it late for Bilbao". ESPN Soccernet. 8 January 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  14. "Vital win for visitors". ESPN Soccernet. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  15. "Malaga hit back to sink Getafe". ESPN Soccernet. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  16. "Rondon doubles up in Malaga win". ESPN Soccernet. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  17. Maresca renueva por una temporada con el Málaga (Maresca renews with Málaga for one season); Marca, 2 July 2012 (in Spanish)
  18. "Enzo Maresca, l'emigrante di successo e di ritorno" [Enzo Maresca, the successful immigrant returns] (in Italian). U.C. Sampdoria. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  19. "Sampdoria 1–2 Atalanta". ESPN Soccernet. 4 November 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  20. "Maresca saluta la Samp: la nuova avventura a Palermo" [Maresca says good by to Sampdoria: a new adventure in Palermo] (in Italian). Tutto Sport. 14 January 2014. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  21. Aldo Cangemi (3 May 2014). "Serie B, trionfo Palermo: Serie A! E' una cavalcata record" [Serie B, Palermo triumph: Serie A! It's a record-breaking ride] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  22. "Operazione all'appendice per Maresca" [Appendix operation for Maresca] (in Italian). Palermo Calcio. 15 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  23. Fabrizio Vitale (27 January 2015). "Palermo, Maresca rinnova. Ed è fatta per Jajalo" [Palermo, Maresca renews. It's settled for Jajalo] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  24. "Serie A survival a 'miracle' – Gilardino". FourFourTwo. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  25. "Hellas Verona, è ufficiale: Maresca ha firmato un biennale" [Hellas Verona, it's official: Maresca signed for two years] (in Italian). Stadio 24. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  26. "Risoluzione consensuale per Enzo Maresca" [Consensual resolution for Enzo Maresca] (in Italian). Hellas Verona. 13 January 2017. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  27. "Enzo Maresca announces retirement". Football Italia. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  28. "Holders' high expectations". UEFA.com. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  29. Cesare Treccarichi (20 January 2014). "Mondonico: " Maresca, giocatore completo. Regista? Secondo me... "" [Mondonico: " Maresca, complete player. Playmaker? According to me... "] (in Italian). Palermo 24. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  30. "Piacere, Superman" [Nice to meet you, Superman] (in Italian). La Repubblica. 18 October 2000. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  31. "Palermo, con Maresca sarebbe un centrocampo perfetto" [Palermo, with Maresca we will have a perfect midfield] (in Italian). Tutto Palermo. 29 August 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  32. "Il mercato adesso frena Lucchesi deve vendere" [Market now comes to a still Lucchesi must sell] (in Italian). La Repubblica. 6 August 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  33. Bedeschi, Stefano (10 February 2014). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Vincenzo MARESCA" [Heroes in black and white: Vincenzo MARESCA] (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  34. ""Made in Italy": i migliori italiani della 38 giornata di Serie A per i media" ["Made in Italy": the best Italians of the 38th Serie A matchday] (in Italian). Vivo Azzurro. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  35. Rocco Fasano (15 January 2014). "OFFICIAL: Maresca to Palermo". Italian Football Daily. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  36. "Maresca-Mediagol: "Coronavirus e calcio, la penso così. Palermo, gli amici e Mondello. Tutto su Juventus, Inter e Lazio. La mia filosofia da tecnico, obiettivi e futuro…"" [Maresca–Mediagol: "Coronavirus and football, this is how I feel about it. Palermo, my friends and Mondello. All about Juventus, Inter and Lazio. My coaching philosophy, objctives, and future..."] (in Italian). Media Gol. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  37. "Maresca eroe di Spagna" [Maresca hero of Spain] (in Italian). Tutto Calciatori. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  38. Franco Esposito (4 February 2000). "Maresca alla Juve sogno da 10 miliardi" [Maresca to Juve a dream worth 10 billion] (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  39. "Palermo 1–1 Inter Milan". BBC Sport. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  40. Giulia Borletto (25 November 2010). "Inter-Maresca: c'è il contatto" [Inter-Maresca: there is contact] (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  41. "Presentati il nuovo allenatore Fiorin e il vice Maresca" [New manager Fiorin and assistant Maresca presented.] (in Italian). Ascoli Picchio F.C. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  42. "Calciomercato Ascoli, addio con Aglietti. Panchina a Fiorin e Maresca" [Transfer market Ascoli, bye bye Aglietti. Fiorin and Maresca take the bench] (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  43. "Fulvio Fiorin, ecco chi è lo stratega che anticipa i successi di Inzaghi" [Fulvio Fiorin, the strategist who anticipates Inzaghi's successes] (in Italian). Spazio Milan. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  44. "E. Maresca – Trophies". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
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