Enzo Maresca prepares for his first derby with Manchester City, and Edson Alvarez denies criminal charges

Italian Enzo Maresca, coach of Manchester City, explained that he enjoys big occasions, such as the Manchester derby scheduled to be held on Sunday.

Manchester City heads to Old Trafford to face its arch-neighbor and host Manchester United, in the summit of the fourth round matches of the English Premier League football championship.

Manchester City is looking forward to continuing its perfect start in the competition and achieving its fourth successive victory. As the team seeking to regain the title that was absent from its coffers in the past two seasons, sits at the top of the standings with 9 points, after winning its first three matches, achieving the full mark so far, and superior on goal difference to its closest rivals Arsenal (the defending champion), which has the same balance of points, while Manchester United is in eleventh place with 4 points.

This match will be the first Manchester derby that Maresca plays since he took over as coach of Manchester City, succeeding Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, who left the team at the end of last season.

This match is the 199th confrontation in the history of this ancient competition, which many consider one of the fiercest derby matches in the world of football.

With a career in professional football that spans nearly 30 years, Marisca has played in some of the biggest domestic matches in Europe.

Speaking during a press conference held at the Manchester City Football Academy on Friday, Maresca explained that he is fully aware of the importance of these matches for the fans, beyond the mere desire to score three points.

He said at the beginning of his speech: “It is a very important confrontation for multiple reasons. It is a derby match, and a particularly important one for the club and the fans. “It is an exceptional match, and the most important thing we can do is to play in our usual style, and then we will see the final result.”

He added in his statements, which were reported on the official website of Manchester City: “All derby matches are somewhat similar. I have had experiences in different derby matches.”

He pointed out, “The most heated confrontation was the one between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in the Greek League, where the atmosphere was very tense. There is also the Juventus and Torino derby, the Seville derby and Real Betis.”

Maresca added: “They are all special matches for the fans in the first place, and for the coaching staff. It is a special occasion for everyone. “I want to play matches like this, and I love these types of confrontations.”

This short trip comes in the same week that witnessed Manchester City's victory in the Champions League against its Portuguese host Porto, 2-0, last Tuesday evening.

Norwegian Erling Haaland decided the match for City against the Portuguese champion by scoring two goals, and Marisca expressed his great happiness with the way his players dealt with the enthusiastic and charged atmosphere, whether inside or outside the field, and now asked them to repeat the same thing against Manchester United.

“I think the most important thing for the players is to focus on the match,” Maresca said. The situation is similar to what happened in Porto, their stadium is difficult and the atmosphere there is wonderful.”

The City coach stressed that he realizes that “the situation is different at (Old Trafford), but the players’ main focus must be on the match, the game plan, how to achieve victory, and provide a brilliant performance.”

Maresca admitted that he was aware of the scale of the occasion and what was at stake in this match, which he described as a special confrontation, but he stressed that the result that mattered to the fans and players was more important than his desire to score a victory in his first derby.

The coach continued: “Honestly, my thoughts are more focused on the team and the fans. “The main focus is not on me being a derby player for the first time.”

Maresca concluded his speech by saying: “Of course, I want to win the match, but we want to continue achieving victories for everyone.”

Edson Alvarez, captain of the Mexican national football team, denied accusations against him of involvement in a kidnapping, after filmmaker Juan Jose Lopez Ordonez accused him of participating in a plot to kidnap him in late 2024.

Alvarez wrote on Instagram: “Over the past months, my name and image have been repeatedly used to attract more media attention to a situation that has absolutely nothing to do with me. So far, I have chosen not to respond. But there are limits, and attributing knowledge, responsibility, or involvement in matters of this kind to me without providing a single piece of evidence that clearly exceeds those limits.”

Ordonez told TV Notas that Alvarez owed him 3.5 million pesos ($206,000) after he worked with him to produce a documentary. The film producer stated that he initially requested to receive his dues in 2024, and also entered into a dispute with the Alvarez family over a property that he says was owned by him.

Alvarez categorically denied these allegations, and said: “If there is anyone who believes that he has evidence of any wrongdoing on my part, there are authorities, prosecutors and courts to whom he can submit it.”

He added: “Serious accusations must be supported by evidence and presented to the competent authorities and not through statements made by media outlets that give priority in their content to sensationalism and attracting media attention at the expense of accuracy and truth.” “I will not allow my name to be used to fuel conflicts between other parties or to gain media exposure.”

وأضاف ألفاريز أنه «نظراً لخطورة التصريحات التي تم الإدلاء بها»، فقد أصدر تعليماته إلى فريقه القانوني لتقييم الأمر واتخاذ الإجراءات المناسبة ومتابعتها.

ولعب ألفاريز أربع مباريات من خمس خاضها المنتخب المكسيكي في بطولة كأس العالم التي أقيمت في يونيو (حزيران) ويوليو (تموز) الماضيين، وكان يرتدي شارة قيادة المنتخب المكسيكي، أحد الدول الثلاثة التي استضافت البطولة. Alvarez currently plays for the English team West Ham.