Enzo Maresca's captaincy rule that puts Erling Haaland at a disadvantage

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Erling Haaland has captained Manchester City on numerous occasions -CreditLI SCARFF, AFP via Getty Images


Erling Haaland was among the first Manchester City players to reach out to Enzo Maresca and offer his congratulations upon succeeding Pep Guardiola. However, the Norwegian striker is unlikely to be leading the side out too frequently under the new manager — and it's precisely because he finds the back of the net so often.

Haaland was handed the City captaincy following January 2025, when he put pen to paper on a new deal tying him to the club for nearly a decade. The 26-year-old has developed into a genuine leader over the past season and remains one of just a handful of players still at the club from their Treble-winning campaign three years ago.

New boss Maresca will be leaning on Haaland not only for his presence in the dressing room but also for his prolific output in front of goal. A greater emphasis will be put on getting the ball wide so that City's wide players can beat their markers and deliver into the box, which should generate even more scoring opportunities for the No.9, as per the Manchester Evening News.

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-Creditarren Walsh, Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Yet that very quality creates a headache when it comes to naming Haaland as permanent captain. Maresca employs goals as a tactical timeout with his captain, but that system would fall apart when his star forward is busy leading the goal celebrations on a regular basis.

"At Leicester and Chelsea, I had a rule that when we scored, the captain had to come to the bench for instructions and not celebrate," he said in his first interview since taking charge at City.

"But if he scores, then he can celebrate. If Erling is the captain, f****** hell - we have a problem, can you imagine?

"If you saw the game on Wednesday (a 3-1 win against K-League All-Stars), when we scored the first goal, Ruben came over to the bench.

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"I think even if it is two or three minutes, there is always something to adjust. At the moment, we have three or four and we are missing one. In the case of Rodri, see what happens."

While Guardiola left the captaincy to a player vote throughout his first nine seasons, he altered that approach in his final year by appointing Bernardo Silva. Maresca will select the next captain following Silva's exit and is also keen to bring an English player into the leadership group; Phil Foden or Marc Guehi could find themselves the beneficiaries of that decision.

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