Roberto Mancini is a former Italian footballer and current football coach who is currently not under contract with any club. His last place of work was the Italian Inter. Roberto Mancini is now 52 years old and has been coaching for sixteen years. When he was a footballer, he played as a central striker, but in some cases he moved deeper and played as a forward forward.
Club career
Roberto Mancini was born on November 27, 1964 in the Italian city of Jesi, where he began playing football from an early age. Already at the age of 13, he passed a tryout at a local club called “Bologna”, where he was accepted. There he continued his football development, and pretty soon the coaches noticed great talent in him. As a result, already in 1980, the 16-year-old boy made his debut for the club and played the whole season, appearing on the field 31 times and scoring nine goals against professional opponents.
Naturally, his days at Bologna were numbered - the leading clubs in Italy immediately began to take an interest in him, and in the summer of 1982 Roberto Mancini signed a contract with Sampdoria, where he spent most of his career. More precisely, for fifteen years Mancini defended the colors of his club. During this time, he played 566 matches, scoring 168 goals. And only in 1997, when he was already 33 years old, Roberto decided to try himself in a new club, which became the Roman Lazio. There he played for another three years and, despite his age, showed good results. Over three years, Mancini played 136 matches and scored 24 goals.
In 2000, Mancini decided to try his hand at another championship, signing a short-term contract with the English Leicester, where he spent only one month, playing five more matches, but without scoring a single goal. And in February 2001, Mancini announced that he was ending his professional football career.
Performances in the national team
It cannot be said that Roberto Mancini, whose photographs nevertheless appeared on the pages of Italian sports publications, was a star player. Still, Sampdoria was not a world-class club, and in Italy it almost never played leading roles. Only once, in 1991, the club managed to win the Italian championship with the help of Mancini, and also won the Italian Cup four times.
The player's greatest achievement at Sampdoria was winning the European Champions Cup, the most prestigious club tournament. Later, together with Lazio, he partially repeated the success, winning the Italian Championship, two Italian Cups and the European Champions Cup. But how did the player’s career develop in the Italian national team? There Mancini played only 36 matches, scoring four goals. He made his debut in May 1984 in a friendly match against the Canadian national team, and went to a major tournament for the first time in 1988 - it was the European Championship.
It was there that he scored his first goal for the national team, against the German national team. Then he played all four matches, but at the 1990 World Championship he was present in the squad, but did not appear on the field even once. Since then, Roberto Mancini, a footballer who won two European Cups, has not been called up to a major tournament, and he played his last match for the national team in March 1994.
Coaching career
Roberto Mancini, whose biography is not limited solely to playing on the field, planned to end his career back in 2000. When his contract with Lazio came to an end, he was offered another contract. In the summer of 2000, Mancini became assistant coach, who at that time was Sven-Göran Eriksson. After working under him for six months, Mancini returned to big football to spend a farewell month with Leicester, after which he received a professional coaching license and began coaching Fiorentina. In the first season he finished in 9th place in the Championship, but led the team to victory in the Italian Cup, and in the second he completely failed and was sacked when the club ended up in 18th place.
In 2002, Roberto took charge of Lazio, which also led to victory in the Italian Cup, and also lifted him to 4th place in the championship. In 2004, Mancini moved to Inter, with whom he finished in 3rd place in his first season and won the cup, and also reached the quarter finals of the Champions League, and in the second he already won both the Cup and the Championship. Seasons 3 and 4 were marked by victories in the Italian Championship and two second places in the Italian Cup. This was followed by four years at Manchester City, where he was able to win the FA Championship and FA Cup. In 2013, Mancini moved to Galatasaray for a year, where he took second place in the Turkish Championship and won the Turkish Cup. In 2014, Roberto returned to Inter, where he spent two seasons, but his maximum was fourth place in the Italian Championship and the semi-finals of the Italian Cup.
What's next?
In the summer of 2016, Mancini was fired from Inter, but decided not to sign a contract with another club yet, taking a short break. He is expected to return to coaching in the summer of 2017.
Over the past few years, the famous Italian football manager Roberto Mancini has often been criticized by sports experts. And I must say, not without reason. The Italian received an almost bottomless budget and unlimited opportunities at Manchester City, but was never able to please the club bosses and the thousands of fans of the “blue moon” with a triumph in the Champions League. On the other hand, if we evaluate Mancini’s coaching career as a whole, then, for sure, he will be among the top 3 most titled of his compatriots.
Player career
Roberto Mancini is a graduate of the Bologna club from northern Italy, where he also took his first steps in professional football, playing primarily in the position of right forward. The striker already managed to score nine times in his first season, which attracted the interest of Sampdoria, which occupied a leading position in the Italian Serie A at the end of the last century. As part of the Blucerchiati, Roberto formed a powerful attacking duo with another Italian footballer, Gianluca Vialli.
In just fifteen seasons in a blue and white T-shirt, Mancini played about five hundred matches and became the champion of Italy with the team. He also won four national Cups, a Super Cup and a European Cup Winners' Cup. The Italian striker was one of those who created a formidable reputation for that Sampdoria in European battles. Needless to say, for a decade and a half, the main idol of Luigi Ferraris was Roberto Mancini. Photos of the player with the titles he won can still be found today in the club museum of the club from Genoa.
At the end of his playing career, the forward managed to play for three years in the Roman Lazio (with whom, by the way, he won six titles, including the Cup Winners' Cup) and even played five games in the English Premier League with Leicester.
Coaching activities
While still a Lazio player, Roberto Mancini, thanks to his vast experience, often acted as an assistant to the head coach of the Romans, Sven-Göran Eriksson. It is not surprising that in 2000, the ex-Blues forward headed one of the Serie A clubs - Fiorentina. The first pancake, as usual, turned out to be lumpy, and after just a few months the coach left Florence. The young specialist fared somewhat better in his native Lazio. Roberto won the Italian Cup with the team, but was soon also forced to leave the capital club due to financial troubles and scandals related to the activities of the president.
From 2004 to 2008, Mancini headed Inter Milan, with whom he achieved very good success in the domestic arena. The Italian mentor became the national champion three times and triumphed in the national Cup two more times. Later (in 2014), Roberto signed a contract with the Nerazzurri for two more seasons, but not only failed to win anything with the team, but also showed uninteresting, meaningless football.
Personnel decides everything
Mancini’s main achievement during his management of the Milanese team is rightfully considered not to be winning titles (although the Italian was very successful in this aspect), but the ability to get a potentially strong player into the team for relatively little money or for free. In four years, Hernan Crespo, Julio Cesar and it is very difficult to overestimate the merit of Roberto Mancini in these transfers. His Inter model was even used by the odious one, who won the Champions League with the Nerazzurri in 2010.
At Manchester City
At the end of the first decade of the new century, another money project, built on Arab capital, called Manchester City, appeared in football England. Roberto Mancini was invited to drive the new “machine”, with whom the club signed a contract for 3.5 years.
The Italian continued to show miracles of football flair in Foggy Albion, otherwise how can one explain that with his arrival Yaya Toure, David Silva and the current leader of the attack, Sergio Aguero, appeared in the team? By the way, it is this trinity that forms the backbone of the “blue moon” to this day.
The Italian spent four years in Manchester and left mixed memories of himself. On the one hand, after several decades, he returned the titles to the club and played spectacular and effective football. On the other hand, by investing fabulous sums in the development of City, the Arab sheikhs probably intended to win the main European tournament - the Champions League, but the Italian failed to do this.
Roberto Mancini: tactics and strategies
The Italian mentor is the most experimentalist in terms of conducting confrontation and using various tactics. English journalists were more than once forced to “scratch their heads” when they learned the starting lineup for the upcoming match and noted that Mancini’s actions often left them bewildered. However, according to the same writing fraternity, such a strategy is also the trump card of the Italian specialist, because compared to the more pragmatic Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, Mancini’s Manchester City showed bright and attacking football, which the audience likes so much and which is so unusual coaches from the Apennines.
Many trophies, failures in European competitions, expensive transfers, regular conflicts, an old acquaintance with Sergei Fursenko, playing defensively - the St. Petersburg club will be headed by an interesting but controversial specialist.
The Italian coach held a meeting with the chairman of the board of "", which means he is about to head Zenit. Here's everything you need to know about the replacement to meet the news of his appointment prepared.
Was a great football player
Winger Roberto Mancini is a graduate of Bologna, but at the age of 18 he moved to Sampdoria, where he spent the best years of his career. From 1982 to 1997, he scored 168 goals for the Genoa club, won the championship, four cups, the Italian Super Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup, and played in the Champions League final. At the age of 33, he managed to become the best football player of the season in Italy and moved to Lazio, with whom he won the country's Super Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup, two national cups and the European Super Cup.
Surprisingly, things weren’t going so well for Mancini in the national team. At Euro 88 he scored against the Germans, and the team, having lost to the USSR in the semi-finals, won bronze. At the home World Cup 90, the result was repeated, only Roberto sat it in the reserves. He was not taken to Euro 92 at all; in qualifying for the 94 World Cup, Mancini scored three goals, but did not receive guarantees that he would go to the tournament from head coach Arigo Sacchi, quarreled with him and ended his career in the national team.
In January 2001, Roberto signed a contract with the then very modest Leicester, played five matches and a month later, at the age of 36, finished football.
Immediately began coaching big clubs
While still a Lazio footballer, Mancini was listed as an assistant to head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. A few days after the end of his playing career, Roberto took charge of Fiorentina, although he did not even have a coaching license at that time. The Violets won the Italian Cup, but in the championship the team was in the relegation zone, and after 10 months Mancini was fired.
Just six months later, Roberto took charge of Lazio. The team experienced serious financial problems, sold its leaders, cut the rest of the players' salaries by 80%, but reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, where they lost to Porto Jose Mourinho and Dmitry Alenichev, and also won the Italian Cup, defeating " " in the final. Having received a tempting offer from Inter, Mancini told Lazio bosses that he could stay if his salary was increased almost 5 times. Of course, this did not happen.
Won three Italian championships in a row with Inter
The first season in the new club was not very successful: another victory in the Cup, but relegation without a chance in the 1/4 finals of the Champions League from the main rival "" and only third place in the championship with a large gap from the first. However, it was during this season that the foundation for future victories was laid, including thanks to successful transfers. For example, the club paid only 3.5 million euros for the Argentines Esteban Cambiasso and Nicolas Burdisso, and then they played 600 matches between them.
However, Mancini and Inter were even more fortunate with the famous “Calciopoli” scandal. After the 2005/06 season, in which the team again performed averagely (victory in the Super Cup and Cup, third place in the championship, elimination in the quarter finals of the Champions League from the modest Villarreal), the gold medals went to them after Juventus was relegated to the second division and Milan were fined 30 points.
Thanks to this, Inter lost their main rival for several years, but also lured away Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Patrick Vieira. Winning the next championship was a matter of technique: the lead over Roma was 22 points; during the tournament, Mancini's team won 17 victories in a row. However, the team failed again in the Champions League, being eliminated by Valencia in the 1/8 finals. The return match ended in a mass brawl between the players.
In the 07/08 season, Inter won the championship for the third time in a row and was again eliminated in the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, this time by "", largely due to early dismissals in both matches. After the return game, Roberto said that he would resign after the season, then took his words back, but he was fired anyway in May. Mourinho replaced Mancini and won the Champions League 2 years later.
Could have come to Russia much earlier
After his resignation from Inter, Roberto still had a valid three-year contract with the club worth 6 million euros per year, so he was in no hurry to find a job and was considering different options. In the summer of 2008, the Russian press wrote about interest in Mancini on the part of CSKA and Spartak, and a year later the Italian media talked about Roberto’s negotiations with, who was looking for a replacement for Dick Advocaat. It seems quite true, because on December 10, 2009, the St. Petersburg club announced the appointment of another Italian, Luciano Spalletti, and on December 19, Mancini got a job in England.
The most interesting thing is that the new old president of Zenit, being the head of the RFU, in 2012 really wanted to see Roberto as the head coach of the national team and even signed a preliminary contract with him for 6 years, but after the failure at the Euro he was forced to resign.
Brought to the first championship victory in 44 years
In the summer of 2008, Arab sheikhs became the owners of the "townspeople", but, despite serious investments, in the first 1.5 years they did not feel progress and invited Mancini. In their first season, City narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League, finishing fifth, the club's best result in the Premier League.
In the summer, the sheikhs bought Yaya Toure, Mario Balotelli, David Silva and other stars for Mancini (for a total of 145 million euros), which helped win the FA Cup (the first trophy for the club in 35 years) and become third in the championship, losing second place to Chelsea. only on goal difference. However, at the international level, Roberto made a mistake again, losing in the 1/8 finals of the Europa League to Dynamo Kyiv, which, by the way, was then led by Yuri Semin. Zenit was then eliminated from Twente at the same stage.
The inspired sheikhs broke the club record by shelling out 36 million euros for the Argentine striker Sergio Aguero, and the team really sparkled, winning 12 of the first 14 rounds, and then giving their neighbors Manchester United their biggest home defeat since 1955 - 1 :6. At the same time, Mancini failed again in the Champions League, failing to even get out of the group, although he scored 10 points (Zenit then reached the playoffs with nine). The Europa League didn't go well either: it was eliminated in the 1/8 of Sporting. But in the championship, City gave fans the most dramatic ending in the history of the Premier League. In the last round, the “citizens” only had to beat the outsiders from QPR at home, but by the end of regular time they were losing 1:2. Goals from Dzeko and Aguero in the 92nd and 94th minutes gave the club their first league win since 1968.
After such success, Mancini extended his contract with the club for 5 years, but was fired after a year. The season began with a victory in the Super Cup; in the Champions League, City failed miserably, finishing last in the group, even below Ajax. The team took second place in the championship, lost to the humblest Wigan in the Cup final, and the sheikhs fired Roberto. The following season, the team became champions and reached the Champions League playoffs under the leadership of Manuel Pellegrini.
Tried downshifting in Turkey
Having played and coached only in top championships, Mancini unexpectedly agreed to the offer, being left without a coach who had left for the national team just a month after the start of the 2013/14 season. This time we can even say that Roberto relatively shined in the Champions League, managing to bypass Juventus in the group and take second place. In the 1/8 finals, the Turks calmly gave way to Chelsea. In the domestic arena, Galatasaray won the cup, but could not really force Fenerbahçe to fight for the championship. After this, Mancini asked for a lot of money for transfers, the club refused, and the parties terminated the contract. The following season the team became champions.
Unsuccessful return to Inter
After winning the Champions League and the departure of Mourinho, the Milan club fell into a crisis, which it is still in now. Mancini also failed to help the team. Having taken over Inter during the season, Roberto took only eighth place in the championship with them and, without a chance, was eliminated in the 1/8 finals by the German Wolfsburg. The next season the team climbed to fourth place, but the contract was terminated. Mancini has been unemployed since August 2016.
Regularly got into scandals
Over 15 years of work, the Italian coach found himself in many conflicts. Let's list the main ones. After his dismissal from Inter in 2008, the club accused him of connections to crime, and the media accused him of losing matches when the team was confidently leading the championship. As that season progressed, Mancini damaged his relationship with club president Massimo Moratti, interfering in the management of the club, and got into a spat with him in the press.
In his first season in England, during a match against Everton, Roberto snatched the ball from the hands of opposing coach David Moyes, after which they began shouting at each other right on the touchline and were both sent off. In the second season, Mancini sent one of the team's main stars, Carlos Tevez, to the reserve team and promised that the Argentine would no longer play under him. However, Tevez then returned to the squad.
Returning to Inter, Roberto had an argument on the sideline with his Napoli colleague Maurizio Sarri and, having heard a certain word in his opponent’s tirade, accused him of homophobia. “If in Italy to be a real man means to be like Sarri, then I’d rather be gay,” said Mancini, a father of three who in years past never lacked fans.
Relies on defense
Although he himself was a dashing attacking player, when he became a coach, Roberto first of all likes to improve actions in defense. “I like the score 1:0. If you don’t concede, and in attack you have someone like Carlos Tevez and David Silva, 90% that you will win,” Mancini said while working in England and received a portion for it critics. Both Inter and Man City, under the leadership of the Italian, had seasons in which they conceded the least amount of goals in the league.
The players themselves repeatedly questioned Mancini's training methods, but he didn't care. “Even if a top player is unhappy in the team, it’s better for him to leave,” Roberto said. At the same time, Roberto himself has an excellent corporate habit of leading the team with a club scarf tied around his neck during a match.
In defense, Mancini loves order, rigor, experience, simplicity, reliability. That is, not exactly the same traits that, for example, Luis Neto possesses. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are already rumors that the Italian wants to buy two new defenders for Zenit.
In general, there will be a lot of purchases, Mancini got used to this while working for the rich Inter and Man City; due to his unpreparedness for this, he quickly left Galatasaray. On the one hand, in the conditions of financial fair play and without the Champions League, it will not be easy for Zenit to lure newcomers and shell out large sums for them. On the other hand, Konstantin Sarsania returned to the club as a sports director, and he knows how (at least he used to know how) to find and persuade good players.
What's the result?
Mancini is not such (in a coaching sense) a young idealist and experimenter as , and not such a hardened conservative who has stayed in one place like Mircea Lucescu, so it would be more correct to compare him with his compatriot.
Mancini is younger, but in some ways even more experienced, since he worked more outside of Italy. He was a great player, and not so long ago, so he can become a great authority for the players. He is more defensively focused and probably more conservative. Like Spalletti, he likes to establish his own rules in the team and does not hesitate to conflict with leaders or even management. Like Luciano, he achieved nothing at all in European competition. On the other hand, this can only be annoying.
Spalletti has 765 matches as a head coach, Mancini has 681 - almost the same. Moreover, both spent most of their careers in good Italian championship clubs. This means we can safely compare statistics. Spalletti's clubs score on average 1.68 goals per game and concede 1.17. Mancini clubs are 1.71 and 0.99, respectively. Conclusion - Roberto's teams are really more successful in defense. Interestingly, Mancini shows better results in national championships: his teams score an average of 1.91 points per match (Spalletti has 1.76), but not in European competitions - 1.64 points versus Spalletti's 1.73.
It was failures in Europe that cost Mancini his job at Inter and Man City, although he won many trophies at the national level. After two third places and two seasons in the Europa League, it would be nice for Zenit to win something first in Russia. The St. Petersburg club has found Spalletti version 2.0 - the return to the past continues.
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Zenit signed Roberto Mancini to regain their former strength in the Russian Championship and European Cups. History will tell us what we can expect from the work of the Italian coach. “Sport Day by Day” tells how the results of teams under his leadership changed and what amounts were spent under him on the transfer market.
Fiorentina
In January 2001, 36-year-old striker Mancini moved to Leicester on loan, but a month later he left England and accepted Fiorentina’s offer to start a coaching career. Roberto replaces Fatih Terim, with whom the “violets” after 20 rounds have 27 points and occupy 10th place. With Mancini, the team plays a little worse - 16 points in 14 matches (an average of 1.14 points versus 1.35 for Terim), but finishes ninth. But the main achievement of the young coach is winning the Italian Cup: in the two-game final, Fiorentina defeats Parma (1:0 away and 1:1 at home).
In the summer off-season, the club experiencing a financial crisis was forced to sell important players - Rui Costa to Milan (42 million euros), Francesco Toldo to Inter (26.5 million) and Tomas Rzepka to West Ham (8.25). The losses were compensated by free agents and loans. The result was a sharp decline in the 2001/02 season. Mancini leaves office on February 11, 2002. Fiorentina by this time is in penultimate 17th place, gaining 17 points in 22 rounds, and eventually flies out and experiences bankruptcy.
In the UEFA Cup, the Violets knock out Dnepr and Tyrol, but in the 1/16 finals they lose to Lille (0:1 at home, 0:2 away).
"Lazio"
Season 2002/03
Mancini spent his first full season at Lazio. In May 2002, he took over from Alberto Zaccheroni, under whom the Romans finished sixth with 53 points. Roberto's task is complicated by the sales of Hernan Crespo to Inter (36 million euros) and Alessandro Nesta to Milan (30.5 million). However, Lazio is progressing with Mancini - finishing the season in fourth position with 60 points and qualifying for the Champions League.
Meanwhile, the UEFA Cup makes a name for coach Mancini. Lazio starts its journey from the first round and goes through Xanthi, Crvena Zvezda, Sturm, Wisla and Besiktas in turn. The Romans reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, but there their path is blocked by the future winner of the Porto trophy, Jose Mourinho. In Portugal, Lazio loses heavily with a score of 1:4, and the game in Rome ends without goals - 0:0.
Season 2003/04
Next summer there will be no particularly high-profile transactions involving Lazio on the market. What stands out is the purchase of Luciano Zauri from Atalanta for 5.95 million euros. The Italian Championship is going a little worse for the Romans: Mancini's team scores four points less than a year earlier and takes sixth place. However, Roberto wins the Italian Cup again. In the two-game final, Marcello Lippi's Juventus was defeated - 2:0 at home and 2:2 away.
In the third qualifying round of the Champions League, the Romans confidently deal with Benfica (4:1 on aggregate) and end up in a group with Chelsea, Sparta and Besiktas. Lazio starts with an away win over Mircea Lucescu's Besiktas (2:0), but this victory remains the only one in six rounds. The Blue and Whites are in last place in their quartet with five points. At the end of the season, Mancini parted ways with Lazio and headed Inter.
"Inter"
Season 2004/05
Roberto also replaces Zaccheroni in this case. Under his predecessor, Inter finished fourth with 59 points. Mancini significantly improved his results in his first season: third place and 72 points. At the same time, the most expensive purchase in the offseason was the transfer of defender Nicolas Burdisso for 3.5 million euros. Inter took on a number of famous free agents, while the club sold players for almost 30 million, in particular, Fabio Cannavaro to Juventus (10 million), Goran Pandev to Lazio (8 million) and Mohamed Kallon to Monaco ( 5 million).
In addition, Mancini continues the tradition of collecting Italian Cups. Now Roma has been beaten in the two-legged final (2:0 in Rome and 1:0 in Milan).
In the qualifying stage of the Champions League, Inter beat Basel and took first place in the group with four wins in six rounds. The black and blue's opponents were Werder Bremen, Valencia and Anderlecht. In the 1/8 finals, Inter prevailed over Porto without Mourinho, but the quarter-finals of the Champions League with Carlo Ancelotti's Milan turned into a nightmare. In the second half of the return game, when Mancini’s team was already losing 0:3 on aggregate, fans hit Milan goalkeeper Dida with a firecracker. The referee decided to end the match, and Inter was punished with a technical defeat.
Season 2005/06
On the eve of the new season, Inter bought Walter Samuel, David Pizarro and Santiago Solari for 32 million euros, gaining only 22 million from the sale of unnecessary players. This had an effect in Serie A: Inter scored four more points. Mancini's team finished the Italian championship third behind Juventus and Milan, but at the end of the season a corruption scandal broke out (the so-called Mojigate) and after investigating and punishing competitors, Inter was declared champion.
Inter's confrontation with Roma in the Italian Cup final continued a year later. The Romans were brought into battle by Luciano Spalletti, but the effect was the same. Roberto got the better of the future Zenit coach (1:1 in Rome and 3:1 in Milan).
Mancini again began qualifying for the Champions League with a confrontation with Lucescu. The Milanese defeated Shakhtar with a total score of 3:1. At the group stage, Inter were waiting for Glasgow Rangers, Artmedia and Porto. This time too we managed to get through the playoffs quite calmly - four wins ensured first position. In the 1/8 finals, the black and blues beat Ajax, but Mancini again failed to submit to the quarterfinals. A 2-1 home win over Villarreal was not enough as the hosts scored and won the battle in Spain thanks to away goal advantage. However, these two Champions Leagues with Inter are still the best for the Italian.
Season 2006/07
Inspired by the unexpected championship, Inter began to behave even more aggressively in the transfer market. In the off-season, 48 million euros were spent, including on Zlatan Ibrahimovic (24.8 million), Patrick Vieira (9.5 million), Maicon (6.8 million) and Fabio Grosso (5.5 million). The Milanese club earned only 31 million euros from sales.
The black and blue took full advantage of the absence of Juventus in Serie A and the problems of their competitors. Roberto's team won the Scudetto by a huge margin, winning 97 points. True, things didn’t work out with the Italian Cup. Spalletti still bounced back in the next final against Mancini (6:2 in Rome and 1:2 in Milan).
In the Champions League, Inter started from the group stage, where Bayern, Sporting and... Spartak were waiting for them. The black and blue won three victories, scored 10 points and took second place behind the Germans. Coach Mancini already knows how to beat Spartak. His guys won 2:1 at San Siro, and 1:0 in Moscow.
In the 1/8 finals of the Champions League against Inter, the away goal rule came into play again. At home, the Italians did not maintain their advantage over Valencia (2:2), and in Spain a goalless draw was recorded.
Season 2007/08
Mancini's shopping tour continued ahead of his final season at Inter. The coach got the hang of it, dreaming of winning the Champions League. The Milan club acquired newcomers for 39 million, among them were Christian Chivu (15 million), David Suazo (13 million), Nelson Rivas (7.5 million) and not the king of football Pele (2 million). They managed to earn only 14 million euros on the market.
Mancini added another championship to his collection. Although the black and blue suffered many suspicious losses at the end of the championship, 85 points were enough to win. Roma were three points behind. Needless to say, the teams of Mancini and Spalletti also met in the Italian Cup final? Now the trophy was played out in a single match in Rome. The hosts won against Inter - 2:1.
At the group stage of the Champions League, Inter competed with a Russian club for the second year in a row. Valeria Gazzaev's CSKA, together with Fenerbahçe and PSV, threw down the gauntlet to the Serie A giants. Mancini coped with the task without problems: five wins and finishing in first place. Gazzaev beat both in Moscow (2:1) and in Milan (4:2).
However, Inter stumbled here too at the 1/8 final stage. Rafa Benitez's Liverpool scored two clean sheets at Anfield before winning by a single goal in the return leg. Failure in the Champions League was called the main reason for Roberto’s resignation.
"Manchester city"
Season 2009/10
For a little over a year, Mancini lay on the stove, hiding a multimillion-dollar penalty from Inter under his pillow, after which he accepted a new challenge - from abroad. Over three transfer windows from the summer of 2008 to the summer of 2009, Manchester City bosses spent 300 million euros on newcomers under coach Mark Hughes, but he never figured out what to do with the happiness that had fallen. The “townspeople” finished the 2008/09 season in 10th place, and in the next English Championship after 18 rounds they were only sixth with 29 points. Hughes was shown the door, and on December 19, 2009, Mancini signed a contract with Man City.
In the remaining 20 rounds, the team took 38 points under the Italian (an average of 1.90 points against 1.61 for Hughes), finished fifth, and received a ticket to the Europa League.
“I understand some players who are still attached to Hughes. “When I leave Manchester City after 15 years, becoming champions of England five times and winning four domestic cups, the players will treat me the same way,” Roberto joked.
Season 2010/11
In the offseason, Mancini could already select players to suit his football. In the summer, the “townspeople”, who were partying to the fullest, spent 182 million euros, selling extra people for only 37 million euros. The most expensive newcomers were Edin Dzeko (37 million), Yaya Toure (30 million), Mario Balotelli (29.5 million), David Silva (28.7 million) and Aleksandar Kolarov (22.7 million). In the Premier League, the all-consuming selection bore fruit in the form of adding three points and winning the third championship place.
Of course, Mancini did not have to wait long for his favorite cup trophy. In the FA Cup final, Man City beat Stoke thanks to a goal from Yaya Toure.
On the international stage, Mancini's team started with a victory over Timisoara, then won the group stage of the Europa League against Juventus, Lech and Salzburg. In the 1/16 finals, the “townspeople” calmly dealt with “Aris”, but in the end this European Cup did not go to the Italian. At the stage of the 1/8 finals, Man City was beaten by Dynamo Kyiv - 0:2 away and 1:0 at home.
Season 2011/12
The desire of the Man City bosses to get the championship trophy at any cost resulted in new large expenses on the market. The English club paid another 87 million euros, acquiring Sergio Aguero (36 million euros), Samir Nasri (27.5 million), Stefan Savic (12 million) and others. They managed to sell the players for a much smaller amount - 30 million euros.
The star team of the “citizens” finally completed the task - they won gold medals. With equal points (they managed to score 89 this season), Man City was ahead of Manchester United in terms of additional indicators, but this happened thanks to a miracle! In the last round, Mancini's team was supposed to win at home against QPR, however, after 90 minutes the guests with ten men were leading 2:1. The hosts were incredibly lucky that Dzeko and Aguero managed to score two goals in stoppage time.
The victory in the Premier League brightened up the impression of the inglorious European tour. At the group stage of the Champions League, Man City, with good statistics (three wins, 10 points), took only third place in the fight against Bayern, Napoli and Villarreal. Having moved to the Europa League, the “citizens” defeated Porto in the 1/16 finals with a total score of 6:1, and in the 1/8 finals they unexpectedly lost to Sporting due to the same away goal rule (0:1 in Portugal and 3:2 in England).
Season 2012/13
In the summer of 2012, Man City had a more adequate balance between expenses and income. The English club parted with 61 million euros, but replenished its wallet by 44 million. The most expensive newcomer was the current Zenit player Javi Garcia (20 million euros). For the first time under Mancini, the Citizens scored fewer points in the championship than a season earlier. Man City finished in second place with 78 points.
Roberto was again close to winning the National Cup, but this time his team lost the trophy due to a goal in injury time (0:1). Wigan won the cup.
However, what cost the coach the job in Manchester was primarily the next league championship kick. The Citizens, without a single victory and with only three points, took last place in the group with Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Ajax. Of course, hardly anyone expected such a failure from a wealthy club that was one of the tournament favorites. Mancini failed to last the promised 15 years at Man City.
"Galatasaray"
Season 2013/14
The Italian's consolation was a compensation of 11 million euros, and less than six months later he was already learning his first Turkish words. As at the beginning of his coaching career, he was helped by the resignation of Fatih Terim. Galatasaray started poorly in the championship (seven points after five rounds and 10th place), and a crushing defeat in the 1st round of the Champions League group stage from Real Madrid with a score of 1:6 forced Terim to leave the reigning champions of Turkey. The club from Istanbul called the ex-Man City coach for help.
And Mancini showed that he is able to work with those who are there! Of course, they bought someone for it in January, but it couldn’t be compared with the spending of the “townspeople”. Although Galatasaray never caught up with Fenerbahçe in the Super League (finished second with 65 points), Roberto maintained the tradition of winning the National Cup with all his teams. In the final, Wesley Sneijder's goal brought victory over Eskisehirspor - 1:0.
Moreover, Mancini pulled Galatasaray into the Champions League playoffs, ahead of Juventus and Copenhagen in the group. Real came first, Istanbul came second. To reach the 1/8 finals of Mourinho's Chelsea would be akin to a feat. Galatasaray drew at home - 1:1, but in London they quickly conceded and lost with a score of 0:2.
"Inter"
Season 2014/15
At the end of the season, Mancini left Galatasaray as the club's goals became more modest and the transfer budget lower. Initially, the parties agreed otherwise. However, the coach did not sit idle for long: in November Roberto accepted the invitation of his beloved Inter. The Milan club fired Walter Mazzari because the team, after 11 rounds, was only in ninth place with 16 points.
Mancini set to work to revive Inter, with expensive transfers postponed until the summer. At first there was not much progress. Over the remaining 27 matches, the black and blue won 39 points (1.44 points versus 1.45 for Mazzari), Inter finished eighth and flew past the European Cup.
The Milanese advanced to the Europa League group stage by defeating Icelandic Stjarnar with a total score of 9:0. Then they won the quartet with Dnepr, Karabakh and Saint-Etienne. In the 1/16 finals, Inter beat Celtic, but in the 1/8 finals they could not oppose Wolfsburg (1:3 away and 1:2 at home).
Season 2015/16
In the off-season, Inter made a lot of noise: they sold players for approximately 100 million, and bought them for the same amount. High-profile signings included Geoffrey Kondogbia (€36 million), Ivan Perisic (€19 million) and Xherdan Shaqiri (€15 million).
Changes in the squad and game allowed the black and blue to take a step forward. Inter won 12 points more and finished the Italian Championship in fourth position. Reserved a place in the Europa League. However, ahead of the 2016/17 season, Mancini left the Milan club. It was reported that Roberto did not have a good relationship with the new owners of Inter; he did not agree with them regarding the contract and issues of selection activities.
Inter, without Mancini, had another lackluster year (62 points, 7th place in Serie A), having changed three coaches during this time. More than 150 million euros were thrown down the drain over two periods of additional applications. Most likely, with Roberto the Milan club would not have survived such a decline. “If Inter had kept Mancini, they would be in the Champions League now,” says former team midfielder Felipe Melo.
Concluding the story about Mancini’s coaching path, we note that he achieved the best results on the international stage without crazy expenses in the transfer market - this is the UEFA Cup semi-final with Lazio, two quarter-finals of the Champions League with the early Inter and the 1/8 finals of the Champions League with “ Galatasaray." This fact only confirms that in football stability and thoughtful selection work are more important than the amount of money. And, of course, it refutes the opinion that Mancini is incompetent in European competition. Another thing is that you still cannot be called a top coach without Champions League and Europa League trophies. But the desire to win European competition unites the Italian with the management of Zenit.
Photos used: AFP; AP; ItaSportPress; Reuters
The younger generation of football fans knows Roberto Mancini as a coach, but long-time fans remember him as a formidable striker, one of the strongest in the best league in the world at that time, who played with a “ten” on his back.
Roberto Mancini
- Country – Italy.
- Position – forward.
- Born: November 27, 1964.
- Height: 179 cm.
Biography and career of a football player
Roberto Mancini was born in the small Italian town of Jesi, located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. The family was small, in addition to Roberto, Aldo and Marianna Mancini had a daughter, Stephanie.
Mancini played football since childhood, and at the age of 13 he ended up at the Bologna football school.
"Bologna"
1981-1982
Mancini was 16 years old when he first took to the field in a first-team match. Surprisingly, in the 1981-1982 season he played all the championship matches, scoring 9 goals, becoming the top scorer of his club.
Alas, this did not help Bologna - the team took penultimate, 15th place in Serie A, and was relegated to the second division, but other clubs paid attention to the talented forward.
Sampdoria
1982-1997
Sampdoria turned out to be quicker, having just returned to the elite of Italian football. Having signed Mancini, the bosses of the Genoese club had no idea that in the person of a promising boy they had acquired a real club legend.
15 years, 556 matches, 171 goals scored (in statistics only data on official matches), 7 trophies won. Mancini's period at Sampdoria was the most successful in the club's history. No matter who played in tandem with Mancini in the Sampdoria attack during this period - Trevor Francis, Gianluca Vialli, Enrico Chiesa or Vincenzo Montella, the main forward was Mancini, who not only scored, but was also the brains of the team.
In general, his position on the field was difficult to determine - Mancini himself has repeatedly stated that he likes to play behind the central striker, but he could move to the forefront of the attack and act along all its fronts.
In the 1990-1991 season, Sampdoria became the champion of Italy for the first and only time in its history. The road to the title was opened by a victory in the 24th round match over the reigning champion and then best club in Europe, Milan, led by Arigo Sacchi. Roberto Mancini was the best on the field in that meeting, as befits a captain. First, he earned a penalty, converted by Gianluca Vialli, and then scored the second goal, which finally put all questions to rest.
For Sampdoria fans, Mancini was not just the team’s best striker, but a real idol, a symbol of the club. In this regard, an interesting story comes to mind. In the late 80s - early 90s, the duo of Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli was considered the most lethal pair of Italian forwards, but the head coach of the Italian national team, Azeglio Vicini, for some reason ignored Roberto, actually not giving him playing time, and the main striker " The Azzurra squadron was considered to be Vialli.
So in Genoa, or rather, in that part of it that supports Sampdoria, there was a saying in use:
“Vialli is the undisputed No. 1 striker in Italy. But in Genoa he is only No. 2, and No. 1 is Mancini.”
And when in November 1991 the Italian national team played a qualifying match for the European Championship against the Norwegian team in Genoa, the stands booed Vicini throughout the match, expressing dissatisfaction with his attitude towards his favorite.
However, the peak of Sampdoria was left behind, and by the mid-90s of the last century the team found itself in the role of the middle peasant of Serie A. It was then that Roberto Mancini accepted the offer of the Roman Lazio. By the way, in his last season at Sampdoria (1996-1997), Mancini became the team's top scorer and was awarded the title of best player in Serie A.
I dare to remind you that he was already 32 years old, and he played in a team that took 6th place in the championship.
"Lazio"
1997-2000
Then the Roman club, unlike Sampdoria, was experiencing the best period in its history. Argentines Hernan Crespo and Claudio Lopez shone in the Lazio attack, and Juan Sebastian Veron also acted as “shell carriers”.
Some might have thought that in such a stellar company, the lot of an older footballer would be the role of a rotation player in the squad. But it was not there! Mancini became an undisputed first team player (in the 1997-1998 season he played all 34 league matches, a year later he missed only one match), and in three years he won six trophies with the team, including the Scudetto and the Cup Winners' Cup.
At Lazio, Roberto was located behind the forwards, directing the game, and in his last season, the championship for the club, he began to actively help head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, in fact being a player-coach.
Leicester
Mancini's parting with football turned out to be somehow crumpled. In January 2001, he signed a contract with English Leicester, but played only five matches for the team, after which he announced his retirement as a player.
Italy national team
1984-1994
I have already mentioned that things didn’t work out for Roberto Mancini with the Italian national team. The Italians did not qualify for the 1984 and 1992 European Championships, for the 1986 and 1994 World Championships Mancini was included in all of the team's entries, and at Italy's home World Cup (1990) he sat on the bench for the entire tournament.
Particularly strange, in my opinion, was Arigo Sacchi's decision not to take Mancini to the 1994 World Cup. Then the Italians weren’t doing so well with attacking players, and in the USA they had to take the rap for everyone. I think that Mancini would definitely be useful there. However, it’s not for me to judge the coach who led his team to the final of the world championship.
Thus, Mancini became the only major tournament. Then he played all four matches on the field, playing in attack paired with Gianluca Vialli, and scored the most important goal in the opening match with the West German national team, the host (of the tournament).
In total, over 10 years, Mancini played 36 matches for the Squadra Azzurra, in which he scored four goals.
Roberto Mancini - coach
As I already mentioned, Mancini began to understand the basics of the coaching profession while still a Lazio player. On March 4, 2001, just a month after the end of his playing career (isn’t this the secret of such a quick end to this very career?) Mancini began his independent coaching career, heading Fiorentina.
Since then, he has been coaching for more than 15 years, and I still don’t have a clear answer to the question: what kind of coach is Roberto Mancini? On the one hand, he worked with giants and won serious titles with them. On the other hand, it cannot be said that Mancini gave any of the teams he led a special game, unique to them.
I will express my opinion, trying not to belittle Mancini’s merits and at the same time not to sing his unnecessary praises. So, having headed Fiorentina, Mancini worked there for less than a year, after which he took the helm of the Roman Lazio. With both clubs he managed to win a trophy - the Italian Cup.
Local success with not the strongest clubs forced the owners of serious teams to pay attention to Mancini, and he ended up at Inter. The first two attempts to win the Scudetto were unsuccessful - Inter finished third in the table (in his debut season, Mancini only managed to take his “traditional” trophy - the Italian Cup).
And then “calciopoli” happened. As a result of the corruption scandal, the championship title passed to Inter, and the two subsequent Scudetto were won not only without a fight, but... Juventus and Milan, who suffered the most, were still recovering from the consequences of the sanctions applied to them (Turin spent one season in Serie B), and other Italian clubs simply could not withstand the fight at a distance.
In addition, Inter has greatly strengthened itself at the expense of its competitors - Patrick Vieira and . But the team suffered constant setbacks in the Champions League, resulting in Mancini being sacked. And Inter, having invited Jose Mourinho, achieved victory in the main European tournament.
In December 2009, Roberto Mancini became the head coach of Manchester City, with whom he won the championship, the FA Cup and the FA Super Cup in three and a half years. That's great, but it's not much considering how much was invested in the team and how much time Roberto Mancini had to build the game.
And the championship title for the 2011-2012 season was won thanks to a dramatic outcome in the last round match with Queens Park Rangers, when City snatched victory by scoring two goals in stoppage time. And in the Champions League, Mancini’s team was never able to overcome the stage as a group. The “citizens” looked especially pale in the 2012-2013 competition, when they were unable to win a single victory.
Then there was work at Galatasaray, with which Mancini won the Turkish Cup, but where he was not cleared of the championship lost to his enemies from Fenerbahçe, and a return to Inter (8th and 4th place in the Italian championship). And finally, on June 1, 2017, Roberto Mancini took charge of Zenit St. Petersburg.
With the selection of players that Mancini had at his disposal, the St. Petersburg team should have won the Russian championship in the 25th round, but instead St. Petersburg risks being left without the Champions League for the second time in a row. Even Mancini’s usual Cup was not won this time. Moreover, Mancini is clearly in no hurry to take the blame on himself; just listen to his interviews or speeches at press conferences: for the Italian, the referees, players, and club management may be to blame, but not himself.
In general, I will answer the question asked at the beginning of this section this way: Roberto Mancini is an average coach who, thanks to a successful combination of circumstances, made a name for himself, and now this name works for him to the fullest.
But without confirmation of your status, this will not last long.
Roberto Mancini's titles
Team
- Two-time Italian champion.
- Six-time winner of the Italian Cup.
- Two-time winner of the Italian Super Cup.
- Two-time winner of the Cup Winners' Cup.
Roberto Mancini's wife is Federica Morelli, the couple has three children - daughter Camilla and sons Filippo and Andrea. Both sons followed in their father’s footsteps, but failed to reach, or at least approach, the level of Mancini Sr.
- Roberto Mancini holds the record for the number of Italian Cups won - 10. He won 6 as a football player, 4 as a coach.
- Before the arrival of Roberto Mancini, Sampdoria did not win a single title, nor after his departure (I don’t think the 2007 Intertoto Cup is too frivolous a trophy).
- The pair of forwards Vialli and Mancini were called “goal twins” in Italy.
- Both of Mancini's sons played briefly under his guidance. Filippo even appeared on the pitch in a Coppa Italia match for Inter, and Andrea was listed for Manchester City when Roberto Mancini coached the club. True, dad never decided to release him to the main team.
- The signature feature of Roberto Mancini, the coach, is a stylishly tied club scarf around his neck.
- When he was a coach, a couple of funny stories happened to Mancini. In January 2015, during the Inter - Genoa match, Roberto Mancini was hit in the face by a ball. The blow was so strong that the Nerazzurri coach fell to the ground.
- And during the Europa League match Zenit - Utrecht, Roberto Mancini managed to tear his trousers.
- Before the start of the 2017-2018 season, Zenit published a meme on Twitter teasing Roberto Mancini regarding his passion for Argentine football players (before the start of the season, the club acquired five Argentine football players at once).
- In St. Petersburg, Roberto Mancini attended hockey for the first time in his life.
- Roberto Mancini has a serious business - he is the owner of a five-star hotel on the island of Sardinia. In addition, Mancini is one of the founders and co-owner of the Kifaru shipyard, where luxury motor yachts are produced.
Returning to the career of Mancini as a player, I catch myself thinking that I don’t know another world-class football player who would be treated so unfairly in the national team. Do you know?