Leicester City players openly admitted to feeling “a bit stupid” when manager Enzo Maresca first arrived at the club and implemented his tactics.
The Italian joined City last summer and quickly introduced his gameplan and formation, which most notably sees a full-back move into midfield when the team are in possession. It’s a system and style that has put City in the promotion race with a month to go in the season.
When Maresca first explained his idea, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall said it left the players dumbfounded in that it was so simple and yet something they’d never learned before. After a few months, by Swansea away in October, it had really clicked.
Speaking to FourFourTwo magazine after being crowned their best EFL player for 23-24, Dewsbury-Hall said of Maresca’s tactics: “I’ll be honest, for the first few weeks, players were openly saying they felt a bit stupid. A lot of the things he was saying, the lads hadn’t seen before.
“The way he explained it made it look so simple and we were telling ourselves: ‘How did we not know this?’ We felt out of our depth!
“The more you do it, the more it feels second nature. That’s why the top teams are so good, they’re all on the same wavelength.
