Enzo Maresca discusses his unusual rule at Manchester City and Haaland

“Manchester City’s new head coach, Enzo Maresca, has spoken about the distinctive and unusual tactical rules he has used during his coaching career. The Italian coach said that in teams he managed, after a goal was scored, the captain had to immediately come to the bench, next to the coach, to receive instructions instead of celebrating.

This intriguing and unexpected revelation The Athletic made headlines in an interview with the publication.

No celebration after a goal, but tactical instructions: Maresca’s “golden rule”

Enzo Maresca revealed that he regularly applied this rule during his successful spells at his previous clubs, Leicester City and Chelsea:

“During my time at Leicester and Chelsea, I had one strict rule: whenever one of our players scored, the team captain had to come over to me, next to the bench, not to celebrate the goal but to receive the next instructions for the match.

However, if the captain himself had scored, he was allowed to celebrate with his teammates,” Maresca said.

According to the coach, giving the team new instructions in the seconds after an opponent concedes, when they are mentally and tactically unsettled, can be crucial to deciding the outcome of a match.

“There would be a problem if Haaland were captain”: Maresca’s joke

The Italian coach jokingly commented on the possibility of applying this rule toManchester City’s leading goalscorer and prolific striker, Erling Haaland:

“If Erling Haaland had been Manchester City captain, we would have had real problems. Because he scores in almost every match! Can you imagine that?” the coach added with a smile.

Since Haaland frequently scores against opponents in almost every match, Maresca’s rule would have had to be slightly modified if the Norwegian striker had been captain.

Haaland’s phenomenal statistics

For context, Norwegian striker Erling Haaland continues to produce consistent and prolific performances for the Citizens:

• Appearances last season: 52 in all competitions;

• Goals scored: 38;

• Assists: 9.

Ahead of the new season, Manchester City, led by Enzo Maresca, aim to strengthen their squad further and mount a serious challenge for the major trophies in the Premier League and Champions League.

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