Roberto Mancini Hoping Coppa Italia Success He Enjoyed Is Replicated At Manchester City

Italian up for the Cup.

01-Jan-2010 2:22:25 PM

More On :  Manchester City, Roberto Mancini
EPL: Roberto Mancini, Manchester City - Stoke City (Getty Images)
Manchester City's recently installed manager, Roberto Mancini, enjoyed great domestic cup success in his homeland - Italy - as a player and manager - and is hoping to replicate that with the Eastlands outfit, starting with a weekend win over Middlesbrough in the third round of the FA Cup.
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Mancini, 45, has got his City tenure off to a strong start with two wins after succeeding Mark Hughes at the Eastlands helm.

The Italian won Italy's Coppa Italia six times as a player and a further four times as a manager, and is hoping that his experience in knock-out phases can aid the club's runs in both cup competitions, with the ultimate view of bringing silver success to the City of Manchester Stadium outfit for the first time since 1976.

He told Press Association Sport: "We are excited by the FA Cup. I know that in England it is a very important competition. In Italy, the cup is perhaps not taken so seriously until teams reach the semi-final stages but here it is different."

"I won the Coppa Italia six times as a player and four times as a manager with three different clubs and it would be great to think I could do that at City too, but to have a chance to achieve that we have to win at Middlesbrough."

Despite a number of injuries: Joleon Lescott, Nedum Onouha, Wayne Bridge, Stephen Ireland, and Roque Santa Cruz are all sidelined, together with international absences Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor, both at the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast and Togo, Mancini will still field as strong a team as possible at the Riverside Stadium.

"We will play our strongest side," he added.

Alan Dawson, Goal.com

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