Leicester City notebook: Coach mystery solved, Victor Kristiansen anger, pre-season plans

The latest news from Leicester City, including Roberto Vitiello’s role being revealed, Kristiansen becoming irritated following his big tournament debut, and summer friendlies being planned.

Enzo Maresca left Leicester City for Chelsea two weeks ago, and six staff colleagues followed him.

Five coaches, including Willy Caballero and Danny Walker, were already revealed to join Maresca’s team at City last summer. However, Roberto Vitiello was surprised to see his name on the list of departees.The club has never mentioned him before.

Vitiello was Maresca’s assistant at Parma and was expected to take on the same role at City when Caballero came. But it appears Vitiello had a role at City.

It has been confirmed that he served as a development coach, working with the under-21s, providing feedback to Maresca on players’ performances in games and training, and functioning as a bridge for those players who potentially advance to the first team. He will fill a similar job at Chelsea.

Perhaps Vitiello’s influence caused Maresca to make debuts for Brandon Cover, Tawanda Maswanhise, and Arjan Raikhy last season, as well as Logan Briggs and Silko Thomas on the bench.

City fans got to see Victor Kristiansen in action for the first time in a year, as the 21-year-old began for Denmark in their Euro 2024 opener against Slovenia, a 1-1 draw. Kristiansen, who played as a left-sided wing-back, impressed with his energy, allowing him to contribute to both defence and offence, and he came close to assisting Rasmus Hojlund.

The game did not go as planned for the Danes, who dominated the first half and scored through Christian Eriksen before losing momentum when Slovenia became more direct and aggressive in their pursuit of an equaliser. They ultimately tied the game, with Erik Janza’s strike deflecting past Kasper Schmeichel.

Kristiansen was reported to have “lost his temper” with reporters in the mixed zone after the game, citing disappointment at not winning on his tournament debut. When asked if nervousness affected Denmark in the second half, Kristiansen responded: “No, but that’s the story you want.”. We played it that way. Then something happened in the second half, and you finished writing your history.

“I’m not sure if that is true. I believe we got a terrific start in the second half and moved ahead. We attacked. Slovenia is also excellent, and it is not always feasible to shut them down.

“You can’t control a match for 90 minutes and then claim to be nervous. That wasn’t how I felt on the pitch.”

When questioned why Denmark was losing control of matches in the second half, as they had done in warm-up games against Norway and Sweden, Kristiansen responded, “Well, is the expectation that we will dominate for the entire 90 minutes?”

“These are the questions being asked. Denmark is expected to dominate the contest for the full 90 minutes. This is how I view the questions.

“We got off to a great start and played a solid first half. Then it alters slightly, and it’s unfortunate that we don’t have three points. That’s the way things are.

City Women fly to Australia as pre-season plans are finalised.

City’s pre-season dates and opponents have yet to be finalised, but plans are in the works, and it is expected that matches will take place in both Europe and the United Kingdom. Fixtures are expected to be released in batches rather than individually when each friendly is completed.

However, the men’s squad will not be travelling as far as the women’s team.They will compete in the Perth International Cup, held in Western Australia in late August and early September. City Women will compete in a four-team tournament alongside Manchester City, West Ham, and PSG, playing two games each.

Read more at: https://sportupdates.co.uk

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