When thinking about Italian soccer idols many people come to mind. Francesco Totti, Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo Maldini, Gianluigi Buffon, Roberto Baggio … the list could stretch an Italian hillside. Another man however has made quite a name for himself over the years and has placed himself among the footballing greats of Italy. His name is Roberto Mancini.
Born in the small town of Jesi, Italy, Mancini knew he had two things coursing through his blood very early on; Catholicism, and football. Mancini began playing the beautiful game when he was a young boy and had quite a talent for it. As legend has it when he was attending his own First Holy Communion ceremony, he caught wind that his youth team was behind at halftime of their game. With his team down 2-0 at the half Mancini was nowhere to be found after receiving his First Communion. Lo and behold he had snuck out to play his favorite game as the priest dismissed him quietly before the ceremony had ended, helping his team to victory that day. That is when he knew football was what he was meant to do.
His professional playing career began in 1981 with Serie A side Bologna and the next year he was quickly scooped up by Sampdoria. In his time with la Samp he turned himself into a household name scoring 132 league goals for the club in 424 appearances until 1997. Between the years 1984 and 1994, he featured in 36 games for the Italian National Team scoring four times before moving to Lazio and Leicester City later in his career. Having a poignant and unmistakable voice in the dressing room paved the way for him to break into the managerial world in 2001.
Mancini began his coaching career in 2001 when he became the head coach for Serie A side Fiorentina. The rest is well, history. Mancini has won a whopping total of 25 trophies, 13 of which came as a player and 12 as a manager. That is no small feat. He has managed the likes of Lazio where he was a former player, Turkish side Galatasaray, Manchester City and is now embracing his second stint with Internazionale.
Mancini has endured great success as a manager including what has been called “the best match of the best last day in English football history,” referring to Manchester City’s 2011/12 Premier League title win. Winning the Turkish Cup with Galatasary in his only season with the club added to his trophy cabinet in fine fashion. In his first stint with Inter he deployed the club as the dominant force in Italian football, winning the Coppa Italia, Italian Super Cup and three league titles between 2004 and 2008.
Now back with Inter Milan, Mancini is looking to lead the Nerazzurri to the top of world football as he once did before. To begin the 2016/17 season his first test is Real Salt Lake. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium.
