Enzo Maresca Asked Manchester City Fans to Bring Bananas for Ipswich

• Enzo Maresca asked Manchester City supporters to bring inflatable bananas to the Ipswich game, City’s first Premier League home match after the club were found guilty of financial breaches.
• City fans packed the away end at Liverpool with the novelty items last weekend, reviving a symbol from the 1980s and 1990s when the club spent time in the second and third tiers.
• Maresca said the fans, the club and the team were “more together for sure” and told his side to “make our noise” on the pitch.

A Manager Who Did Not Know the History Behind the Banana

Enzo Maresca has a request for Manchester City supporters, and it involves inflatable fruit. The City manager called on fans to bring bananas to the Etihad for the Ipswich game, the club’s first Premier League home match after they were found guilty of breaking the league’s financial rules.

“Very nice,” Maresca said of the inflatables. “I didn’t know the history behind the banana. I hope tomorrow I can see many bananas in the stadium. I think it creates a nice environment for the fans and for everyone that is in the stadium.”

The manager has a personal stake in the fashion. “I have four kids, they already asked me [for bananas], but tomorrow they’re going to be at the stadium and we’ll see,” he said.

Where the Bananas Came From

Supporters packed the away end at Liverpool last weekend with the novelty items as a nod to the club’s history. Blow-up bananas became popular among City fans in the 1980s and 1990s, when the club spent time in the second and third tiers. They have been revived now in reaction to the threat of relegation and to show there is plenty to reflect on before the 2008 takeover.

City were found guilty of all charges related to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. The club have said they are “innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League”, that they have “irrefutable evidence” and that the ruling “contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe”. City’s appeal has been confirmed.

‘We Need to Try to Make Our Noise’

Maresca said the noise around City is something the club cannot control, so the team has to answer it in the only way open to them. “We need to try to make our noise,” he said. “And to make our noise means win at Anfield, try to win tomorrow. And this is the way we can make our noise. The different kind of noise, we are not able to control that.”

He pointed to a comment from Rúben Dias. “I think Rúben said that people don’t like the City win. But we like to win. So I think that is a good message for everyone.” Maresca said he could see the fans, the club and the team “more together for sure”, before adding: “But we’ll see.”

City played against a backdrop of being the focus of anger around the country. The Ipswich game came after Maresca dropped points for the first time as City manager, losing 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. City sit three points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, and victory carried the chance of making Maresca the first manager to win his first seven Premier League games with a club.

Maresca’s attitude to the noise was clear. The team could not control it, and he wanted the fans, the club and the players to answer it together. Speaking before the game, he said he hoped to see plenty of bananas in the stadium.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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