![]() Mancini in July 2010 |
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | Roberto Mancini | ||
Date of birth | 27 November 1964 | ||
Place of birth | Jesi, Italy | ||
Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | ||
Playing position | Striker, Second striker | ||
Club information | |||
Current club | Manchester City ((manager) | ||
Youth career | |||
Bologna | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
1981–1982 | Bologna | 30 | (9) |
1982–1997 | Sampdoria | 424 | (132) |
1997–2000 | Lazio | 126 | (24) |
2001 | Leicester City | 4 | (0) |
National team | |||
1982–1986 | Italy U21 | 26 | (9) |
1984–1994 | Italy | 36 | (4) |
Teams managed | |||
2000 | Lazio (assistant) | ||
2001–2002 | Fiorentina | ||
2002–2004 | Lazio | ||
2004–2008 | Internazionale | ||
2009– | Manchester City | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
Roberto Mancini (born 27 November 1964 in Jesi, Ancona) is an Italian football manager, formerly an international player and current manager of English Premier League team Manchester City.
As a player he was best known for his time at Sampdoria, where he played more than 550 league matches, and helped them win the Serie A league title, four Coppa Italias and the Cup Winners Cup, whilst being capped 36 times by Italy.
In the latter days of his playing career he was an assistant apprentice to Sven Goran Eriksson at Lazio. Following the end of his accomplished playing career he moved into management and achieved success at both ends of the footballing spectrum. He began his managerial career at the deep end with a cash stricken Fiorentina at only 35 years old and managed to win a Coppa Italia but left with Fiorentina sliding towards inevitable bankruptcy. A few months later he then took over as manager at Lazio, where again, he inherited financial constraints and was forced to lose big players but still managed to win another Coppa Italia, a UEFA Cup semi-final, whilst securing a lucrative Champions League place with limited resources during his two season tenure.
Following these short spells he garnered a reputation for what he could do on a shoestring[1], he was offered a chance at the big time as Inter manager's job in 2004 by Massimo Moratti. During his tenure at Inter he built a team and transformed them into the dominant team in Italy, dominance in Italy and Europe which still exists in 2010. His spell at Internazionale was laden with success as he won an Inter club record 3 consecutive Serie A titles, a European record 17 consecutive league game victories stretching nearly half-a-year,[2] a record of 4 consecutive Coppa Italia finals whilst becoming Inter's most successful manager in 30 years.[3] Despite domestic success, many pundits[4] see the repeated failure to translate domestic success into winning the coveted Champions League as the main reason for his sacking in 2008 by Inter's hierarchy.[5]
Whilst out of football he reiterated his desire to work in England[1] and after over a year out of football he was appointed Manchester City manager in December 2009. Despite success at previous clubs he remains one of the youngest Premier League managers and is known for his tactical nous, prolific team building skills[6] at Lazio and Inter and a tradition of wearing a scarf of his club's colours, something which he has continued at Manchester City.[7]
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Mancini was born in the small town of Jesi, Italy in 1964 but then moved onto the mountain town of Rocadaspida,Italy and was raised by Aldo and Marianna Mancini along with his younger sister, Stephanie. Raised a Roman Catholic, his young life in Jesi revolved around religion and football.[8] He was an altar boy and played for the local Aurora Calcio football team in his youth. On one occasion a fixture clashed with his first Holy Communion. Halfway through the ceremony the young eight year old Mancini was nowhere to be seen. His local priest who was administering his first communion frequently coached Calcio, he heard they were losing 2–0 at half-time and so he asked a young Mancini quietly after receiving his communion if he had his football kit and boots with him. Roberto said they were in the changing rooms and so he told him to sneak out of the side door and put them on because his team needed him unbeknownst to his father.[8]
Mancini debuted in Italian Serie A for Bologna on 12 September 1981. The following year he was bought by Sampdoria, for whom he played until 1997. Later he played for Lazio (1997–2000) and Leicester City (2001).
With Sampdoria, he formed a dynamic strike partnership with Gianluca Vialli, and led the club to its only league title in 1991, four Coppa Italias (1985, 1988, 1989 and 1994) and a Cup Winners' Cup in 1990. He also appeared in the final of the 1991–1992 European Cup against Barcelona. With Lazio he won his second scudetto (2000) and Cup Winners' Cup titles (1999) as well as two more Coppa Italias (1998 and 2000). In 1999–2000 season he failed to score in 20 matches; however Lazio did win the Scudetto and Coppa Italia, but he announced his playing retirement. After this he joined Lazio’s coaching staff as Sven-Goran Eriksson’s number two.
Joining Leicester in January 2001 with a contract until the end of the season,[9] Mancini is currently the club's last ever high-profile signing to date.[10][11] He made his Premier League debut against Arsenal at the age of 36 that same month, playing his part as 10-man City gained a 0–0 draw. Better was to follow with a 2–1 FA Cup win over Aston Villa at Villa Park and, after a 1–0 defeat at Southampton, Mancini produced his best display in a 2–1 win over Chelsea. He played his final match as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat at Everton. Mancini failed to complete 90 minutes in his five appearances.[10]
He was given a leave of absence in early February, citing personal reasons. However, the club received a phone call from him on 14 February, informing them he would not be returning (he had been offered the manager's job at Fiorentina). Mancini left Leicester City on 15 February 2001.[12] Despite this, he cites his time at Leicester as the period during which he fell in love with the English game, prompting him to accept the challenge at Manchester City.[13]
Despite his success at club level, Mancini never became a regular for Italy. He made his international debut in 1984 against Canada[14] and won 36 caps and scored four goals for his country (including a goal against West Germany at Euro 88). He was also a non-playing member of the Italian squad at 1990 World Cup, being kept out of the side by the likes of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Baggio. At U-21 level, Mancini finished runner-up in UEFA U-21 Championship 1986, and reached the semi-finals in UEFA U-21 Championship 1984. His international career came to an end after a dispute with national team coach Arrigo Sacchi when Mancini found he would not be guaranteed a first team place at the 1994 World Cup.
In 2001 when he was studying at Coverciano, where he penned a research pamphlet entitled "Il Trequartista".[15] which examined the role of an attacking midfielder. During this time he had not attained the necessary badges to be a manager.
In 2001 he made an impromptu exit from Leicester City after only four games to enter management, after he was offered the managers job by Fiorentina. He had to gain special dispensation to become manager from the Italian football authorities as he had not attained to neccessary managerial badges.[16] Mancini however inherited a Fiorentina plagued by financial worries. Despite this he managed to win the Coppa Italia on his first occasion as manager. During his tenure with Fiorentina, Mancini was occasionally willing to come out and play for the team due to the club having financial problems with its players as key players such as Rui Costa and Francesco Toldo were sold. According to various sources[17] Mancini worked unpaid and received death threats as Fiorentina were in financial meltdown, before quitting after 10 months in the job.[17] In January 2002 he resigned with Fiorentina second-bottom of Serie A and edging towards bankruptcy, which ultimately the club did later in June 2002.[18]
In May 2002, five months after leaving Fiorentina, Mancini was appointed manager of Lazio in 2002. Again however he was restricted by financial worries with key players such as Hernan Crespo, Alessandro Nesta being sold and players forced to take a 80% pay cut. In his first season though he took Lazio to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup before being knocked out by his successor at Inter, Jose Mourinho's Porto. Success came however when he led his Lazio side to win the Coppa Italia in the 2003–2004 campaign, a victory which marked his second time winning the Cup as a manager having previously won it in 2001 with Fiorentina.[19]
Despite the financial constraints and concerns he admirably kept Lazio stable whilst he provided some success and ultimately finished fourth and sixth in 2003 and 2004 which helped him earn the managerial position at Internazionale.
Before the start of the 2004–05 season, rumours circulated in the Italian Press that Inter Milan had approached Mancini to fill the recently vacanted managerial position at the club. Shortly after, Mancini quit Lazio and announced that he would be joining Inter. In his time at Inter, he achieved the clubs first domestic trophy since the Serie A success of 1989, a period of 15 years. Mancini built and transformed Inter into the dominant team in Italy, a fact continued by his successor Jose Mourinho.
In his debut season (2004–2005) he won the club's first trophy in seven years – a 3–0 Coppa Italia final victory over Roma thanks to a brace from Adriano at the Stadio Olimpico and a Sinisa Mihajlovic free kick at the San Siro. Mancini guided Inter to third in the Serie A and reached the Champions League quarter-finals only to be knocked out by city rivals AC Milan 3–0 on aggregate. In August Inter won the Italian Super Cup for the second time in their history with a 1–0 victory over Juventus.
In 2005–2006 Mancini again won the Italian Cups and an Italian Super Cup and won the Scudetto, the first for Inter in 16 years. However, the Scudetto title was handed to Inter following the Calciopoli scandal, which saw Juventus stripped of the title and relegated to Serie B.
In 2006–2007, Mancini guided Inter to a second successive league title as they amassed a record-breaking total of 97 points, which is an Italian football record and until the season 2009–10 was a European record, too.
Furthermore, Inter with Mancini as manager went on a record-breaking run of 17 consecutive victories in Serie A, starting on 25 September 2006 with a 4–1 home win over Livorno and ending on 28 February 2007 after a 1–1 draw at home to Udinese. The 5–2 away win at Catania on 25 February 2007 broke the original record of 15 matches held by both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid from the "Big 5" (the top flight leagues in England, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany). The run lasted for almost five months and is among the best in European league football, with just Benfica (29 wins), Celtic (25 wins) and PSV (22 wins) bettering it. Inter also won with 5 games to spare and ultimately by 23 points and only losing once in the league all season. Mancini became the third coach in Inter history to win back-to-back league titles after Alfredo Foni (1952–53 and 1953–54) and Helenio Herrera (1964–65 and 1965–66).
Inter also progressed to the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup for the third consecutive season but were beaten in both finals by AS Roma. Once again though, despite Inter's impressive league form, Inter struggled in Europe again. In the Champions League they were knocked out in the first knockout round by Valencia on away goals. The match was perhaps more famously remembered for the mass brawl involving both sets of players after the match.[20] Mancini was not implicated in the incident as he was seen to not be involved in the brawl in the camera footage. Footage showed him attempting to block the camera's view for a few seconds before he was seen shrugging his shoulders and nonchantly walking away whilst the brawl was taking place in the tunnel.
2007–2008 proved to be Mancini's final season in charge of the Nerazzurri, however his reputation was not tainted but it grew further as he added a third consecutive Serie A title to his honours. Again he guided Inter to the Coppa Italia final but lost for a second consecutive season to Roma, 2–1 at the Stadio Olimpico.
Despite his successes, the inability to win the Champions League displeased Inter owner Massimo Moratti. Earlier in the season in March 2008, Mancini announced his intention to step down at the end of the 2007–08 season after his side were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after a 3–0 aggregate loss to Liverpool in the Second Round. Mancini rescinded this decision a day later on 12 March after meeting with Inter president Massimo Moratti. The reason for the announcement of his planned departure was that Mancini was unhappy and had been tipped off about José Mourinho replacing him at the end of the season and had planned to announce his own resignation rather than sacking in advance to avoid embarrassment.[21]
On 29 May 2008, Inter officially announced the sacking of Mancini, following an encounter with club chairman Massimo Moratti, justifying the move by pointing to Mancini's negative comments made immediately after the Liverpool defeat.[22] He was eventually replaced by Jose Mourinho.[23]
Continual failures on the European stage blighted his managerial career at Inter and appeared to have cost Mancini his job. A best of the quarter final stage was achieved in 2006, however a mass brawl against Valencia in 2007 and an easy 3–0 aggregate defeat by Liverpool prompted speculation about his future, despite his domestic success since arriving at Inter. Whilst he was out he was linked to the vacant Chelsea job in May 2008[24] Notts County job[25] On 30 October 2009 Mancini agreed to a mutual termination of his contract with Internazionale.[26] The termination was in response to Mancini getting compensation for his sacking at Inter. The contract however meant Mancini was actually unemployable by any other club from May 2008 to October 2009. It was believed Mancini was entitled to a €16m wrangle, in the end though Mancini reportedly settled for a "measly" €5m payoff.[21]
On 19 December 2009, Mancini was publicly revealed to be taking over as manager of Manchester City on a three and a half year deal following the sacking of Mark Hughes. He accepted the offer of a club now expectant of success and his appointment came eleven months after he was first linked with the club.[27] This news came only hours after Manchester City's 4–3 home victory over Sunderland. There were rumours, that Mancini's initial 6 month appointment was just a stopgap solution until the end of the season when Manchester City would seek a new manager, but has since revealed he intends to stay in Manchester for many years to come with support from City chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak.[28]
Having been appointed half-way through the season, Mancini's arrival had an immediate impact on City's form. His first game in charge was a 2–0 home win against Stoke City on December 26, in which Martin Petrov and Carlos Tévez scored, which was then followed by a 3–0 win away from home against Wolves, that was City's first away win for two months. He continued his good start with a 1–0 win against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup Third Round[29] and made it four wins in a row with a 4–1 win at home against Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League.[30] His first defeat came in a 2–0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park. Mancini then won his first ever Manchester Derby 2–1 in a Carling Cup semi-final first leg.[31] However United won the second-leg 3–1, eliminating City from the competition.
In February 2010, under Mancini, Manchester City completed a season double over champions Chelsea for the first time since 1957, with a resounding 4–2 win at Stamford Bridge. This was also his first clash in the Premier League with Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was at the helm of AC Milan during Mancini's days at Inter.[32] The win was followed by a hard fought draw at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland, plus a win at Craven Cottage. A 3–0 win against Wigan Athletic was followed up with defeat against Everton for the second time in the Premier League this season.
Mancini was involved with a confrontation with Everton manager David Moyes, where Mancini ran over to Moyes and grappled the ball out of his grasp whilst Everton were making a substitution.[33] Both managers reconciled after the game and Mancini publicly apologised, but Mancini was subsequently charged with 'improper conduct' by the FA,[33] however David Moyes and Alex Ferguson both backed Mancini.[34]
In April, Manchester City leapfrogged Tottenham Hotspur into fourth place in the Premier League with a 6–1 thumping of Burnley[35] and a further 5–1 hammering over Birmingham City. City entered May with a 3–1 win over Aston Villa, however, on May 5, a single goal defeat to Tottenham meant that Manchester City had lost out on 4th place, with Spurs taking it courtesy of their win.
City finished the season in 5th, their highest ever Premier League finish and the first time since 1978 that City had qualifed for Europe via their league position.[36] There had been speculation Mancini might lose his job if Manchester City did not finish 4th to secure Champions League Football, but chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak in an interview with Manchester City[28] praised Mancini and felt he would be manager at Manchester City "for many years to come".
Mancini began his first full season at Manchester City in July 2010 with a pre-season tour to the US. After missing out on the Champions League, he spent heavily during the summer transfer window. Mancini signed German international defender Jerome Boateng from Hamburg for approximately £10.64m[37], Spanish World Cup winner David Silva from Valencia for approximately £24m[38], Yaya Toure from Barcelona for around £24m[39] and Aleksandar Kolarov from Lazio for approximately £19m.[40]. Whilst he also let Sylvinho, Benjani and Martin Petrov leave the club after their contracts expired[41].
Mancini and City began their pre-season in shaky fashion without most of their key players losing 2-0 to Sporting Lisbon in their opening Barclays New York Challenge game[42] and lost 2-1 to New York Red Bulls thanks to a wonder goal by Dane Richards.[43] City racked up their first win of the pre-season courtesy of some good penalties and saves from Shay Given against Mexican club, Club America with Yaya Toure making a composed and impressive debut in the first-half.[44] Mancini however was forced to return home to Italy after his father Aldo[8] had been rushed into intensive care[45].
His time at Fiorentina helped bolster his reputation as a shoestring manager who could deliver under extreme financial worries, whilst at Lazio with Sven Goran Eriksson and at Inter he built and bought a team capable of winning top honours.[6]
Towards the latter days of his playing career he was assistant manager to Sven Goran Eriksson at Lazio. Whilst here, he developed his managerial skills with the intuition of Eriksson at the tender age of 34.[1] Along with Eriksson, they built a team using Lazio's new found wealth which won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1999. Eriksson's success alerted the Football Association and soon became England manager. After Eriksson left, Mancini fulfilled a wish of his to play in England for Premiership club, Leicester City.
His playing spell was cut short when he agreed to take over as Fiorentina manager in February 2001 where he stayed for ten months. Here he managed for six months under extreme economic cicumstances, with key players such as Rui Costa and Francesco Toldo. It was a baptism of fire for the novice manager, as he and his players were forced to take pay cuts and Mancini received death threats.[17] Somehow he achieved success by delivering a Coppa Italia for the club.
Although he soon made a quick getaway back as helpless Fiorentina were all but doomed to go bankrupt, something which later occurred in the season. He returned to Lazio, again with financial constraints, as key players such as Alessandro Nesta and Pavel Nedved had to be sold. In his two seasons at Lazio he continued his outstanding Coppa Italia by collecting another one and secured a lucrative Champions League slot in his first season.
Mancini's magnanimous attempts at managing two clubs stricken by financial worries won him many admirers, including Inter president Massimo Moratti who appointed him manager of Inter soon after he left Lazio. At Inter he excelled and built a winning squad wisely with players such as Esteban Cambiasso, Julio Cesar, Maicon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli and transforming Inter team into consistent winners, a team which won a consecutive six Serie A titles from 2005 to 2010.
Mancini has been married for nearly 20 years to his wife Federica and have a daughter and two sons, Filippo and Andrea who have both played in the Internazionale youth ranks where Filippo managed to play 10 minutes in a single Coppa Italia match for Inter. Filippo has also previously been on loan at Manchester City where Mancini is currently managing.
Season | Club | Championship | Coppa Italia | Europe | Supercoppa Italiana | Total | |||||||||
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Comp | Apps | Goals | Comp | Apps | Goals | Comp | Apps | Goals | Comp | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
1981–1982 | ![]() |
A | 30 | 9 | CI | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 31 | 9 | ||
1982–1983 | ![]() |
A | 22 | 4 | CI | 5 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 27 | 5 | ||
1983–1984 | A | 30 | 8 | CI | 8 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 38 | 10 | |||
1984–1985 | A | 24 | 3 | CI | 11 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 35 | 6 | |||
1985–1986 | A | 23 | 6 | CI | 11 | 4 | EWC | 4 | 2 | - | - | 38 | 12 | ||
1986–1987 | A | 26 | 6 | CI | 5 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 31 | 6 | |||
1987–1988 | A | 30 | 5 | CI | 13 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 43 | 8 | |||
1988–1989 | A | 29 | 9 | CI | 11 | 5 | EWC | 8 | 0 | SI | 0 | 0 | 48 | 14 | |
1989–1990 | A | 31 | 11 | CI | 3 | 2 | EWC | 9 | 2 | SI | 1 | 0 | 44 | 15 | |
1990–1991 | A | 30 | 12 | CI | 10 | 2 | EWC | 5 | 2 | SE | 2 | 0 | 47 | 16 | |
1991–1992 | A | 29 | 6 | CI | 6 | 2 | EC | 9 | 4 | SI | 1 | 1 | 45 | 13 | |
1992–1993 | A | 30 | 15 | CI | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 32 | 15 | |||
1993–1994 | A | 30 | 12 | CI | 7 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 37 | 12 | |||
1994–1995 | A | 31 | 9 | CI | 2 | 1 | EWC | 4 | 2 | SI | 1 | 0 | 38 | 12 | |
1995–1996 | A | 26 | 11 | CI | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 28 | 12 | |||
1996–1997 | A | 33 | 15 | CI | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 35 | 15 | |||
Total – Sampdoria | 424 | 132 | 98 | 26 | 39 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 566 | 171 | |||||
1997–1998 | ![]() |
A | 34 | 5 | CI | 8 | 1 | UC | 10 | 3 | - | - | 52 | 9 | |
1998–1999 | A | 33 | 10 | CI | 6 | 2 | EWC | 7 | 0 | SI | 1 | 0 | 47 | 12 | |
1999–2000 | A | 20 | 0 | CI | 7 | 3 | UCL | 9 | 0 | SE | 1 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |
Total – Lazio | 87 | 15 | 21 | 6 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 136 | 24 | |||||
2001 | ![]() |
PL | 4 | 0 | |||||||||||
Total – Career | 541 | 156 | 120 | 32 | 65 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 733 | 204 |
Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||||
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G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
Fiorentina | ![]() |
February 2001 | November 2002 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 16 | 22.22 | ||
Lazio | ![]() |
May 2002 | July 2004 | 102 | 49 | 32 | 21 | 48.04 | ||
Internazionale | ![]() |
July 2004 | May 2008 | 227 | 140 | 61 | 26 | 61.67 | ||
Manchester City | ![]() |
December 2009 | Present | 30 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 56.67 | ||
Total | 386 | 210 | 105 | 71 | 54.40 |
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