# Inside Manchester City's Post-Guardiola Transition: Why Josko Gvardiol Calls Enzo Maresca the 'Perfect One'

**By Tomás Ferreira**  \nPublished August 4, 2026  \nUpdated September 9, 2026

> Following a decade of Pep Guardiola and a summer of seismic squad changes, defender Josko Gvardiol has signed a new five-year contract and backed Enzo Maresca to lead Manchester City's next tactical chapter.

When a managerial tenure spans a trophy-laden decade, the vacuum left behind is rarely just tactical; it is psychological. At Manchester City, the departure of Pep Guardiola at the end of the 2024-25 season brought a definitive end to an era. Yet, as the club steps into a new horizon under Enzo Maresca, the dressing room has moved quickly to establish stability. Central to that continuity is defender Josko Gvardiol, who not only committed his long-term future to the Etihad Stadium by signing a new five-year contract running until 2031, but forcefully endorsed the incoming Italian.

Speaking from City's pre-season tour, where Maresca took charge for the first time in a friendly defeat on penalties to Inter Milan in Hong Kong, Gvardiol made his stance unambiguous. The level is that high and he has been chosen with reason as the manager, Gvardiol said as reported by BBC Sport. I think he has a quality, has some new ideas and also we need to see what we are going to do [with] the style of [play], the football we are going to play and the tactics. I think he is a perfect one, but of course, it takes time. It's something totally new, it's not easy to change the manager, so we will take time.

## Decoding the Maresca Shift: Tactical Continuity and Challenges

Maresca arrives in Manchester armed with a three-year deal, a Championship title earned at Leicester City, and a Club World Cup triumph with Chelsea on his resume. For Gvardiol, the tactical transition feels familiar yet distinct. Having faced Maresca's Chelsea side previously, the Croatian defender noted structural similarities to the principles Guardiola instilled over the past three years. I remember when he was at Chelsea, it was difficult to play against them especially away. We struggled, Gvardiol reflected. We’re really happy that he is here with us and we can learn something new from his ideas and his mentality. I think it’s quite similar to how we’ve been playing the last three years.

However, implementing those ideas requires patience, particularly after an injury-plagued campaign for Gvardiol himself. The 24-year-old missed five months of the previous season after sustaining a fractured bone in his right leg during a January draw against Chelsea, returning to action only in May before enduring an arduous World Cup campaign with Croatia that ended in a last-32 exit against Portugal. Rebuilding physical rhythm alongside a revamped tactical framework remains his primary pre-season objective.

## Navigating the Departure of a Legend

Speculation surrounding Guardiola's future lingered throughout the 2024-25 campaign before the manager confirmed his exit during the final week of the season. Reflecting on the timeline, Gvardiol believes the protracted uncertainty was handled correctly. Some would say he could have told us earlier, some would say not, Gvardiol noted. I think it was perfect timing because it can affect you mentally if he would have said it earlier. We knew at some point he has to tell us. He has been here for 10 years and it is time to rest a little bit and retire. We could feel it.

The transition is further compounded by significant personnel turnover. Bernardo Silva departed upon the expiration of his contract to join Real Madrid, while experienced defender John Stones moved to Inter Milan on a free transfer. With leadership vacancies opening up across the squad, attention has turned to the leadership group. Gvardiol pointed to teammate Ruben Dias as a primary candidate to assume the armband, while expressing his own readiness to shoulder responsibility. Ruben is one of the leaders in our team and he is probably going to be on the top now - maybe the most important one, Gvardiol said. He will need some guys who have been here for a longer time. So if that's on me, I will take responsibility.

## The Immediate Horizon

As City navigates pre-season fixtures against Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, and the K-League Stars in Asia, the foundational work under Maresca is only beginning. With a lucrative new deal secured and exit speculation firmly rebuffed by his long-term commitment, Gvardiol is primed to serve as a defensive anchor for the new regime.

The domestic calendar will test the speed of City's adaptation almost immediately. Maresca's side faces Arsenal in the Community Shield curtain-raiser before opening their Premier League campaign a week later against Bournemouth. Whether the tactical patterns installed by the Italian can seamlessly bridge the gap left by Guardiola's decade-long dynasty will define the opening months of English football's new campaign.

## Sources

- [bbc.co.uk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c8rny130kzpo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) — original
- [ca.sports.yahoo.com](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/boss-maresca-perfect-man-city-060146147.html) — original
- [Manchester City FC Tue, July 28, 2026 at 12:05 PM UTC · 2 min read](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/achieve-great-things-maresca-says-120500826.html) — original
- [fotmob.com](https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/news/adt5cr5lj3pr1ek8yhjmdiu0d-gvardiol-eyes-man-city-success-maresca) — original
- [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c8rny130kzpo) — original
- [onefootball.com](https://onefootball.com/en/news/we-can-achieve-great-things-with-maresca-says-gvardiol-43196540) — original
- [Gilbert Ekugbe](https://punchng.com/epl-maresca-perfect-man-city-manager-after-guardiola-exit-gvardiol/) — original