Saturday, February 25, 2012

Roberto Mancini

Roberto Mancini (born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager, formerly an international player and current manager of Premier League club Manchester City. As a player Mancini was best known for his time at Sampdoria, where he played more than 550 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.

As a player, he gained a penchant for becoming a future manager and would often give team talks at half-time and ultimately became an assistant to Sven-Göran Eriksson at Lazio in the twilight of his playing career. After his retirement, Mancini embarked on a successful managerial career. A cup specialist, Mancini had never failed to reach a semi-final of a major national cup competition, from 2002 to 2011, but on 2012 his club Manchester City made an early exit after being defeated by rivals Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup. He also guided the Italian clubs he managed to a record 5 consecutive Coppa Italia finals from 2004 to 2008, with Lazio once in 2004 and with Inter in the following four seasons.

Mancini's first managerial role was at a cash stricken Fiorentina at only 35 years old and managed to win a Coppa Italia, but left with Fiorentina facing bankruptcy. Months later, he took over as manager at Lazio, where again he inherited financial constraints and was forced to lose a number of key players. With limited resources during his two season tenure, he still managed to win another Coppa Italia, reach a UEFA Cup semi-final, and secure a lucrative Champions League place.

In 2004, Mancini was given the chance to manage a major club, being offered the manager's job at Internazionale. During his tenure at Inter, the club won three consecutive Serie A titles (an Inter club record) and a European record 17 consecutive league game victories stretching nearly half a season. and became Inter's most successful manager in 30 years. Despite his domestic success, many pundits saw the repeated failure to win the coveted Champions League as the main reason for his sacking in 2008.

After being out of football for over a year, Mancini was appointed Manchester City manager in December 2009 and his team-building achievements at Lazio and Inter were a factor in his appointment. In the 2010-11 season, his first full season at City, Mancini guided the club to Champions League football and the FA Cup, and has moulded City into a sound defensive unit. He maintains a tradition of wearing a scarf of his club's colours, something which has been continued at Manchester City.

Early Life
Mancini was born in the small town of Iesi, Marche, in 1964, but then moved onto the mountain town of Rocadaspida and was raised by Aldo and Marianna Mancini along with his younger sister Stephanie. Raised a Roman Catholic, his young life in Iesi revolved around religion and football. 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 eight-year-old Mancini was nowhere to be seen. His local priest who was administering his first communion frequently coached football, 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.

Personal Life
Mancini has been married for nearly 20 years to his wife, Federica. They have a daughter and two sons, Filippo and Andrea, who have both played in the Internazionale youth ranks, where Filippo has played 10 minutes in a Coppa Italia match. Both of his sons have at one point been a part of Manchester City's 'Under-21' youth team. Filippo trained with the club's youth/reserve team for several months during the 2007–08 season before Roberto was appointed as City's manager, while Andrea was signed by his father for the current Elite Development Squad in November 2010 after being released from Bologna. Andrea still plays for the EDS although he's currently out on loan at Oldham Athletic. Mancini was estimated to have a personal wealth of £19m in 2011.

Mancini has stated he watches the soap opera Coronation Street to help improve his English.

From : www.wikipedia.org