One former Chelsea head coach has been cited as a ‘perfect’ option for Liverpool if the Merseyside club were to dispense with Arne Slot in the near future.
There has been an abundance of speculation over the 47-year-old’s position at Anfield as the Reds’ season lurches from one low point to another, and the Dutchman has come under more fire after his side were thoroughly outclassed by Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.
Xabi Alonso has naturally been cited by many as the most ideal candidate to replace the incumbent boss if LFC were to make a change in the dugout, although one ex-Everton defender has put forward the name of another coach who’s currently out of work.
Marco Materazzi spoke to Hajper about the likeliest next step for Enzo Maresca, who left Chelsea on New Year’s Day as tensions with the Stamford Bridge hierarchy came to a head, and the 2006 World Cup winner believes his fellow Italian would be a good fit for Liverpool.
The 52-year-old said (via GOAL): “Can Enzo Maresca make Real Madrid into champions again? Yes, why not! He speaks very good Spanish because he was at Sevilla, but I think Maresca also has a good opportunity to get a job in the Premier League for next season too.
“Newcastle United? Not for me. Manchester United would be a good move for Maresca but he’s too connected to Manchester City [as former assistant to Pep Guardiola] to make that happen.
“I think Liverpool would be the best fit for Enzo Maresca. He is the perfect coach to lead a rebuild at Liverpool to create a new vision for the team.”
Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
The 46-year-old may have been at Chelsea for only 19 months but he still guided them to two trophies as they won the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup last year, and his exit from west London wasn’t the result of a prolonged period of bad results.
However, it’s difficult to envisage Liverpool considering Maresca as a prospective replacement for Slot if the Dutchman were to be sacked, and aside from the Italian’s prior connections with two of our biggest rivals, there are other reasons why we disagree with Materazzi’s assertion about him being a good fit.
One of the biggest criticisms of the current Reds boss is that his style of play is boring to watch, and the former Blues head coach was notorious for his sterile, possession-heavy approach when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge.
It’s about as far removed as possible from the football that we loved witnessing under Jurgen Klopp and could make for even harder viewing than what we’ve seen under Slot this season, and we can’t imagine that going down well with the Anfield faithful.
Maresca will almost certainly resurface in another head oaching position in the foreseeable future, but we can’t imagine him being hired by Liverpool any time soon, with the greatest of respect.
Welcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.
