Yahoo News Leicester City notebook: Coach mystery solved, Victor Kristiansen anger, pre-season plans
When Enzo Maresca left for Chelsea two weeks ago, six staff members followed him out of Leicester City.
Five of those were familiar names like Willy Caballero and Danny Walker, coaches who had been announced as joining Maresca’s team of staff at City last summer. But for Roberto Vitiello, his inclusion in the list of departees was a surprise. This was the first time he had ever been mentioned by the club.
Vitiello was Maresca’s assistant at Parma and was rumoured to be taking on the same job at City before Caballero arrived. But it seems Vitiello did have a role at City.
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It’s been established he acted as a development coach, working with the under-21s, feeding back to Maresca on players’ performances in games and training, and acting as a bridge for those players who could step up to the first team. He will take on a similar role at Chelsea.
Perhaps it is Vitiello's influence that prompted Maresca to give Brandon Cover, Tawanda Maswanhise, and Arjan Raikhy their debuts last season, and to include Logan Briggs and Silko Thomas on the bench too.
Kristiansen ‘loses his temper’ after Denmark draw
City fans enjoyed the chance to see Victor Kristiansen in action for maybe the first time in a year as the 21-year-old started for Denmark in their Euro 2024 opener, a 1-1 draw with Slovenia. Playing as a left-sided wing-back, Kristiansen impressed with his energy, allowing him to contribute in both defence and attack, and he nearly got himself an assist for Rasmus Hojlund.
The game didn’t go to plan for the Danes, who dominated the first half and scored through Christian Eriksen, only to lose their way when Slovenia became more direct and aggressive in pursuit of an equaliser. They did tie up the game eventually, Erik Janza’s shot deflected past Kasper Schmeichel.
Frustrated not to have seen out the victory on his tournament debut, Kristiansen was said to have “lost his temper” with reporters in the mixed zone after the game. Asked if nerves got the better of Denmark in the second half, Kristiansen said: “No, but that's the story you want. That we played it like that. Then something happened in the second half, and then you have written your history.
“I don't know if that is true. I think we got off to a good start in the second half and came forward. We attacked. Slovenia are also good, and it is not always possible to shut them down.
“You cannot dominate a match for 90 minutes, and then it is easy to say that you were nervous. That was not the feeling I had on the field at all.”
Then asked if there was a reason why Denmark were losing control of matches in the second halves, as they had done in the warm-up games against Norway and Sweden, Kristiansen replied: “Well, is the expectation that we will dominate for the entire 90 minutes?”
“These are the questions that are asked. It is with the expectation that Denmark will dominate the match for 90 minutes. This is how I perceive those questions.
“We got off to a fantastic start and played a really good first half. And then it changes a bit, and it's a shame that we don't have three points. That's the way it is.”
City Women head to Australia as pre-season plans finalised
There are still no confirmed dates or opponents for City’s pre-season, but plans are being worked on and it’s understood there will be both matches in Europe and the UK. It’s expected that fixtures will be announced in a couple of blocks, rather than as and when each friendly is finalised.
But the men’s team won’t be travelling as far afield as the women’s team. They have been announced as participants in the Perth International Cup, a tournament that will be taking place in late August and early September in Western Australia. City Women will play two games in a four-team competition with Manchester City, West Ham, and PSG.
