![]() ![]() There were still some doubts about how well Mancini’s side might fare at a major tournament with a relatively inexperienced squad and only seven survivors from Euro 2016.īut throughout the tournament, Italy have demonstrated an ability to continue playing their own way regardless of injuries or personnel changes.Īlong the way, Mancini has sought to take the pressure off his players to get the best out of them. Results were not immediate in their first six games, Mancini’s Italy won once – a friendly against Saudi Arabia.īut the concepts he put in place were almost immediately apparent, and the 1-0 UEFA Nations League defeat his side suffered in Sept. Those ideas were to implement a positive, proactive identity that leaned on the technical proficiency of Italy's players, and to bring through the younger generation. “Ideas like his have never been seen before with the national team,” former Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso said recently. Slowly but surely, Mancini put the shattered pieces back together and built a vibrant new Italian side. That national disgrace resulted in the departures of coach Gian Piero Ventura and federation head Carlo Tavecchio, not to mention public fury and intense debate about the worrying state of a once-great football nation. He took the job in May 2018 after lifting trophies across the continent at club level with league titles at Inter Milan and Manchester City and domestic cups at City, Lazio, Fiorentina and Galatasaray.īut the national team job posed a daunting task after their humiliating failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. It would be a remarkable achievement, considering the state the national team was in when Mancini found them. He is not wrong, but Mancini is now one step away from joining Pozzo and Lippi in the illustrious pantheon of Italian coaching greats by leading Italy to their first European Championship since 1968. ![]() “Pozzo won trophies, which is more important,” he said. Over the last three years, the 56-year-old has overseen a national record 33-game unbeaten run, surpassing Vittorio Pozzo’s double World Cup-winning side of the 1930s and Marcello Lippi’s 2006 world champions along the way.īut Mancini has so far refused to take credit for the achievement. ROME, July 9 (Reuters) - Roberto Mancini has made history as Italy manager before a ball is kicked in Sunday's Euro 2020 final. ![]()
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