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Attention, Manchester City Fans: Everything You Want To Know About Roberto Mancini
Goal.com Calcio expert Carlo Garganese sets the record straight on Mancio...
| Bet: | Returns: | Porto £26.00 | Draw £32.00 | Manchester City £25.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Porto £26.00 | Draw £32.00 | Manchester City £23.80 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Porto £27.50 | Draw £32.50 | Manchester City £23.75 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Porto £28.00 | Draw £33.00 | Manchester City £25.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Porto £27.00 | Draw £32.00 | Manchester City £24.00 |
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Dec 23, 2009 2:30:12 PM
Is he worthy?
Roberto Mancini is more proven than Mark Hughes in the sense that he has already coached three big Italian clubs in Fiorentina, Lazio and Inter and won honours with all of them.
However, despite winning three successive Scudetti with Inter, he is still regarded as somewhat unproven at a club that expects to win major trophies because these league triumphs were virtually by default.
He will command more respect initially than Hughes from the players, but it is difficult to say right now whether he is a significant enough trade-up.
The man, the fans, the media
Mancini had a very pricky relationship with the fans and media during his time at Inter. When things are going well he seems to flow along smoothly, but when the going gets tough, he can often hit the self destruct button.
The pressure does get to Mancini. He quit immediately after the Liverpool elimination in the 2007/08 Champions League, before then agreeing to stay on. He has been involved in many arguments with the media and other coaches, including Fabio Capello.
During his playing career he was also extremely hot-headed and some described him as a big-game bottler.
A lot of talk has been circulating that Mancini is the best Italian player of his generation, even better than Roberto Baggio. Let's stop the nonsense now. Mancini was a superb club player with Sampdoria, but to put him in the same class bracket as Baggio is quite laughable.
Tactics
Much has been speculated about Mancini championing an attacking style of football - he said it himself at his first press conference - but anyone who watched Inter during his final two years will tell you that they played very dull, efficient football.
This does not mean that Mancini doesn't want to play attacking football - in fact at Fiorentina and Lazio both his sides played some eye-catching stuff - but at neither of these teams was there the pressure of winning leagues and cups like City will be.
At City, Mancini will be expected to deliver so it will be interesting to see what happens.
What is certain is that Mancini likes to play with a traditional support striker, one that plays in the same style as he used to as a player and creates the chances for the first striker. Robinho could be this man, although there is hot speculation in Italy that Sampdoria's Antonio Cassano could be leaving Italy once again, this time for a debut in the Premier League.
Man management
Mancini has a reputation for his questionable man-management skills.
He clearly lost the dressing room at Inter in his final season there, and this was cited as a key reason by president Massimo Moratti for his sacking.
The big-name players did not respect him: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Figo and Patrick Vieira. Most of the squad also appeared to have little love for him, as proven by the fact that when rumours were flying around the media that Jose Mourinho would replace him, very few Inter players came out and publicly backed Mancini.
Transfers
This is where Mancini has excelled. His transfer record at Inter was superb, and he most definitely has an eye for a good player and knows how to build a team in terms of personnel.
Julio Cesar, Maicon, Christian Chivu and Esteban Cambiasso - bedrocks of the current Inter team - all arrived during Mancio's time at the club. Not to mention Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Patrick Vieira, who joined in the aftermath of Calciopoli.
This is one area where you will expect Mancini to shine at Eastlands. He is going to be handed a big warchest, and I would be surprised if he wasted this money. Expect some inspired signings.
Track record
Mancini developed his reputation as one of Italy's most promising coaches, with three good years split between Fiorentina and Lazio. He won the Coppa Italia for both of his teams.
Mancini then moved to Inter in 2004. The Nerazzurri had not won the championship since 1989, and were regarded by the media as a club that was run really badly (think Newcastle United... but better) and wasted cash and fired loads of coaches.
Despite his afforementioned transfer work, Mancini achieved little in his first two seasons as Inter lived deep in the shadow of Juventus' domestic dominance and Milan's European pedigree.
Inter were awarded the 2006 Scudetto by the courts (after the Calciopoli scandal) and under Mancini would go on to win the next two championships.
To be frank, a Sunday League coach could have won those two championships, as Inter had virtually no opposition. Even so, Inter almost threw away the 2008 Scudetto as Roma were 30 minutes away from being champions until Zlatan Ibrahimovic came off the bench on the final day at Parma to rescue his side.
Where there was competition, in the Champions League, Mancini spectacularly flopped.
Potential
With the money Mancini has to spend, and his excellent transfer record, you would expect him to assemble a world class team of individuals. The key is whether he will blend these individuals into a team to win big games and major honours.
I wouldn't be surprised to see him wilt in a media mind game against Sir Alex Ferguson. This happened against Fabio Capello's Juventus.
Manchester City will be key in Mancini's future. If he fails to win anything in the next three years or so he may find it difficult to get another top job.
Seeing as a future move to Juventus or Milan is out of the question for obvious reasons, the Premier League or La Liga could be Mancini's only club options after Manchester City if he wants to lead another big club.
Expert opinions
Gianluca Vialli (Sampdoria teammate from 1984-1992 and commentator on Sky Italia): “He has been working hard over a year and half to learn English and has been living in London a few months to learn the language.
"He has always been attracted by the style of football in the Premier League. I know he's particularly happy to be joining Manchester City.
"He's been a top class player and he's quite experienced as a manager."
Jose Mourinho (Successor at Inter Milan and former manager of Chelsea): "I want to wish the best of luck to Roberto Mancini for his appointment.
"It will be a great and special experience for him to test himself in a very different reality to Italian football. Mancini is a good coach and has an owner [Sheikh Mansour] who spends a lot of money. I don't see why he shouldn't be happy in England."
Steve Bruce (Sunderland manager): "Now he [Mancini] is in the job, we would wish him good luck, that's for sure. We are all like that in this country, we wish everyone the best of luck.
Roberto Mancini is more proven than Mark Hughes in the sense that he has already coached three big Italian clubs in Fiorentina, Lazio and Inter and won honours with all of them.
However, despite winning three successive Scudetti with Inter, he is still regarded as somewhat unproven at a club that expects to win major trophies because these league triumphs were virtually by default.
He will command more respect initially than Hughes from the players, but it is difficult to say right now whether he is a significant enough trade-up.
The man, the fans, the media
Mancini had a very pricky relationship with the fans and media during his time at Inter. When things are going well he seems to flow along smoothly, but when the going gets tough, he can often hit the self destruct button.
The pressure does get to Mancini. He quit immediately after the Liverpool elimination in the 2007/08 Champions League, before then agreeing to stay on. He has been involved in many arguments with the media and other coaches, including Fabio Capello.
During his playing career he was also extremely hot-headed and some described him as a big-game bottler.
A lot of talk has been circulating that Mancini is the best Italian player of his generation, even better than Roberto Baggio. Let's stop the nonsense now. Mancini was a superb club player with Sampdoria, but to put him in the same class bracket as Baggio is quite laughable.
Tactics
Much has been speculated about Mancini championing an attacking style of football - he said it himself at his first press conference - but anyone who watched Inter during his final two years will tell you that they played very dull, efficient football.
This does not mean that Mancini doesn't want to play attacking football - in fact at Fiorentina and Lazio both his sides played some eye-catching stuff - but at neither of these teams was there the pressure of winning leagues and cups like City will be.
At City, Mancini will be expected to deliver so it will be interesting to see what happens.
What is certain is that Mancini likes to play with a traditional support striker, one that plays in the same style as he used to as a player and creates the chances for the first striker. Robinho could be this man, although there is hot speculation in Italy that Sampdoria's Antonio Cassano could be leaving Italy once again, this time for a debut in the Premier League.
Man management
Mancini has a reputation for his questionable man-management skills.
He clearly lost the dressing room at Inter in his final season there, and this was cited as a key reason by president Massimo Moratti for his sacking.
The big-name players did not respect him: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Figo and Patrick Vieira. Most of the squad also appeared to have little love for him, as proven by the fact that when rumours were flying around the media that Jose Mourinho would replace him, very few Inter players came out and publicly backed Mancini.
Transfers
This is where Mancini has excelled. His transfer record at Inter was superb, and he most definitely has an eye for a good player and knows how to build a team in terms of personnel.
Julio Cesar, Maicon, Christian Chivu and Esteban Cambiasso - bedrocks of the current Inter team - all arrived during Mancio's time at the club. Not to mention Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Patrick Vieira, who joined in the aftermath of Calciopoli.
This is one area where you will expect Mancini to shine at Eastlands. He is going to be handed a big warchest, and I would be surprised if he wasted this money. Expect some inspired signings.
Track record
Mancini developed his reputation as one of Italy's most promising coaches, with three good years split between Fiorentina and Lazio. He won the Coppa Italia for both of his teams.
Mancini then moved to Inter in 2004. The Nerazzurri had not won the championship since 1989, and were regarded by the media as a club that was run really badly (think Newcastle United... but better) and wasted cash and fired loads of coaches.
Despite his afforementioned transfer work, Mancini achieved little in his first two seasons as Inter lived deep in the shadow of Juventus' domestic dominance and Milan's European pedigree.
Inter were awarded the 2006 Scudetto by the courts (after the Calciopoli scandal) and under Mancini would go on to win the next two championships.
To be frank, a Sunday League coach could have won those two championships, as Inter had virtually no opposition. Even so, Inter almost threw away the 2008 Scudetto as Roma were 30 minutes away from being champions until Zlatan Ibrahimovic came off the bench on the final day at Parma to rescue his side.
Where there was competition, in the Champions League, Mancini spectacularly flopped.
Potential
With the money Mancini has to spend, and his excellent transfer record, you would expect him to assemble a world class team of individuals. The key is whether he will blend these individuals into a team to win big games and major honours.
I wouldn't be surprised to see him wilt in a media mind game against Sir Alex Ferguson. This happened against Fabio Capello's Juventus.
Manchester City will be key in Mancini's future. If he fails to win anything in the next three years or so he may find it difficult to get another top job.
Seeing as a future move to Juventus or Milan is out of the question for obvious reasons, the Premier League or La Liga could be Mancini's only club options after Manchester City if he wants to lead another big club.
Expert opinions
Gianluca Vialli (Sampdoria teammate from 1984-1992 and commentator on Sky Italia): “He has been working hard over a year and half to learn English and has been living in London a few months to learn the language.
"He has always been attracted by the style of football in the Premier League. I know he's particularly happy to be joining Manchester City.
"He's been a top class player and he's quite experienced as a manager."
Jose Mourinho (Successor at Inter Milan and former manager of Chelsea): "I want to wish the best of luck to Roberto Mancini for his appointment.
"It will be a great and special experience for him to test himself in a very different reality to Italian football. Mancini is a good coach and has an owner [Sheikh Mansour] who spends a lot of money. I don't see why he shouldn't be happy in England."
Steve Bruce (Sunderland manager): "Now he [Mancini] is in the job, we would wish him good luck, that's for sure. We are all like that in this country, we wish everyone the best of luck.
"But I reiterate what I said at the weekend: if we are not careful, all the jobs seem to be going to foreign coaches.
"I can't see many English or British coaches working in their countries, working in Germany or Spain or Italy.
"But I do wish him all the best. He is a very, very nice man and a genuine man, and he was a fantastic player.
"I wish him the best of luck in the Premier League, and [assistant] Brian Kidd too."
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