Leicester began the season as promotion favourites and for much of the campaign, it seemed to be only a matter of time before their Premier League return was confirmed. Initially they more than lived up to their billing.
Thirteen wins in their first 14 matches saw them surge 14 points clear of third-placed Leeds United and Reading’s 106-point record from 2005/06 looked in danger.Successive defeats to Leeds and Middlesborough, though, briefly checked their momentum.
Another 10-match unbeaten run saw Maresca’s side begin 2024 with a 10-point lead at the top following a 4-1 win against Huddersfield Town on New Years’ Day.
Then a 5-0 thrashing of fellow pass masters Southampton left Leicester on the brink of promotion before Leeds’ defeat at Queens Park Rangers guaranteed them a place back in the Premier League.
“The ambition and the dream for us is to bring this club and this city, these fans, back where they belong,” Maresca said midway through the season.former West Bromwich Albion midfielder whose professional breakthrough came at the Hawthorns, Maresca also represented clubs in Italy, Spain and Greece during a near 20-year senior career.
In that time he was exposed to the methods of a number of respected managers he played under such as Marcello Lippi, Carlo Ancelotti and Manuel Pellegrini, the coach who suggested he had what it takes to be a manager.
But it was the approach of Pep Guardiola and his Barcelona side that Maresca – a Serie A champion with Juventus and two-time UEFA Europa League winner with Sevilla – “fell in love with” while he was an opponent in Spain, where he also played for Malaga.
Maresca later got to witness that approach first-hand during two coaching spells at Manchester City, from where Leicester appointed him last summer. After spending the 2020/21 season in charge of City’s elite development squad, Maresca’s second stint saw him return to Etihad Stadium in June 2022 as one of Guardiola’s assistants.
FACTS:
2015–16 season was Leicester City Football Club’s 111th season in the English football league system and their 48th (non-consecutive) season in the top tier of English football.
Leicester City Football Club’s 120th season in the English football league system and their 56th (non-consecutive) season in the top tier of English football.