Mikel Arteta, Xavi, Vincent Kompany, and now, Enzo Maresca. The list of former students of Pep Guardiola stepping into their own managerial careers continues to grow, with Maresca the latest to be appointed Leicester City boss in the summer.
Can Maresca Change Leicester's Fortunes?
Maresca will, like those before him, rely on all of the knowledge learnt from arguably the greatest manager of all time, but whether that will be enough to turn things around at the King Power Stadium remains to be seen.
Despite being 16/5 favourites in this year's Championship winner odds, the mood around the club is very dark. Leicester's fall from grace has shocked the whole of British football, with The Foxes now finding themselves in the second tier, just seven years after winning the Premier League.
It has been a miserable time for Leicester fans, but they will be hoping that the new man in charge has what it takes to bring them back to the promised land of English football at the first time of asking. Maresca, whose first managerial role ended in disappointment at Parma, will have learnt plenty from his time as first-team coach at City, but whether he is ready for a job of this magnitude remains to be seen.
Successful Guardiola Graduates
Mikel Arteta
Now a big rival to Guardiola and his City team, Mikel Arteta has shown that soaking up all of Pep's knowledge can lead to great things. Arteta was a huge part of the City set-up during his time at the club and has flourished as a number one having joined Arsenal, a team he represented in his playing days.
Arteta and his team pushed Man City hard in the Premier League last season, and for a time it looked like they would stop them from winning the first leg of what turned out to be a memorable treble-winning season.
Xavi
Having stepped into the shows of Guardiola as a player at Barcelona, Xavi played a key role in the current City boss' hugely successful time at Camp Nou. Fast forward to the present day and it is Xavi who sits in the dugout at Barca, and, like Arteta, he has shown all of the benefits that come with working closely with Pep.
Vincent Kompany
A Man City legend who will forever be remembered as the club's most successful captain, Vincent Kompany is also plying his trade as a manager at Burnley. The Belgian may have been a surprise choice to replace the long-serving, Sean Dyche, as Turf Moor, but he has repaid the owners' faith in spades.
Another to have benefited from working closely with Guardiola, Kompany transformed Burnley into by far the best Championship side last season, and will now be taking on his old mentor in the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
It is no surprise that players and coaches who have worked with Guardiola through the years have turned out to be successful managers in their own right. Given that Pep was taken under the wing of the legendary Johann Cruyff when he played at Barca, it was always likely that he would do the same thing to many of his coaches and players.
Arteta, Xavi, and Kompany have already proved themselves as top-class managers, but Enzo Maresca has arguably the toughest job of them all. Pep's genius will have rubbed off on the Italian, but turning things around at a deflated Leicester City won't be easy.