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Tag: Roberto Mancini

  • Mancini apologizes for early departure after shootout loss

    Mancini apologizes for early departure after shootout loss

    Saudi Arabia’s head coach, Roberto Mancini, issued an apology after inadvertently leaving the pitch before the conclusion of his team’s penalty shootout against South Korea in the Asian Cup on Tuesday.

    The Italian witnessed his team surrender a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute of stoppage time at Education City Stadium, leading to extra time and ultimately a penalty shootout where they missed two crucial kicks.

    Following the dramatic turn of events, Mancini, in a regretful move, walked off without witnessing Hwang Hee-Chan’s decisive penalty that secured South Korea’s advancement to the quarterfinals with a 4-2 victory on penalties.

    This sets up a quarterfinal clash with Australia on Friday.

    “I apologise [for leaving early]. I thought it was finished. I didn’t want to disrespect anyone,” Mancini told a news conference. “I want to say thank you to all my players for what they did. They are improving a lot.”

    “We, as a group, improved a lot. We’ve worked for one month together [for the Asian Cup] and this is important.

    Saudi Arabia initially took the lead in the round-of-16 match with Abdullah Radif’s goal in the 46th minute.

    However, Cho Gue-Sung’s late header for South Korea levelled the game, forcing it into extra time.

    The subsequent penalty shootout witnessed South Korea’s goalkeeper, Jo Hyeon-Woo, making crucial saves from Sami Al Naji and Abdulrahman Ghareeb.

    Roberto Mancini, who was vying for his second major international title as a coach after guiding Italy to victory in the 2021 European Championship, saw his aspirations dashed.

    On the other side, South Korea’s head coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, could potentially add the Asian Cup to his achievements, having previously won the Concacaf Gold Cup with the U.S. in 2013.

  • Mancini upset over Saudi Arabian players who ditched Asian Cup squad

    Mancini upset over Saudi Arabian players who ditched Asian Cup squad

    Saudi Arabia coach Roberto Mancini voiced criticism on Monday towards players who departed the national camp ahead of the Asian Cup, suggesting concerns over potential limited playing time.

    Mancini emphasised that he values players who are committed to fighting for the national team’s shirt.

    Goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi, midfielder Salman Al-Faraj, and full-back Sultan Al-Ghannam were omitted by Mancini from the squad for the continental tournament in Qatar, despite being part of the initial list of players called up.

    “They were on the list. Salman told me he doesn’t want to play in the friendly games. I asked Sultan if he was happy to play and he told me he wasn’t happy,” Mancini told reporters ahead of their group opener against Oman on Tuesday.

    “Players don’t decide if they play or not; I decide. Nawaf told me he’d come but the day after, in Riyadh, he said he didn’t want to come. We tried to speak with him and put him on the list.

    “Three days ago, he went to our goalkeeper coach and said, ‘I don’t want to stay here if I don’t get to play’. I only want players who fight for their country.”

    Mancini, who has had a storied career as a manager with trophies in club football as well as a European Championship with Italy in 2021, said he had never seen players opting out of the national team before.

    “I don’t understand when a young player refuses to come because he doesn’t know if he will play or not. The national team is not a club; it’s your country. You represent all the people in your country,” Mancini added.

    “You should be happy if you’re a part of this group. This is a very strange situation and it’s the first time I’ve experienced this… But we’ve found other players to play.”

    The Saudi team for the Asian Cup is not as experienced as the squad that shocked Argentina in the World Cup group stage in 2022, while even Oman have players with more international caps.

    “We had these two weeks to work with the players. We know all players from Oman play regularly in the league and they’re probably stronger,” Mancini said.

    “But we’re happy with the players we have, they want to fight for their country.

    “Oman have good strikers and midfielders; they’re very dangerous in attack. For this reason, tomorrow will be a difficult game.”

  • Italian Football Federation mull legal suit against ex manager Roberto Mancini for sudden quit to Saudi

    The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) is contemplating taking legal action against former national team coach Roberto Mancini.

    Mancini stepped down from his position as Italy’s head coach in August after a five-year tenure, during which he led them to victory in Euro 2020 but failed to secure qualification for the previous year’s World Cup.

    However, just two weeks later, he was officially announced as the new manager of Saudi Arabia, having signed a four-year contract.

    The FIGC initially supported Mancini’s continuation with the national team despite their absence from the World Cup in Qatar.

    Roberto Mancini Italy

    President Gabriele Gravina has now confirmed that they have engaged a lawyer to explore the possibility of pursuing a legal case against the 58-year-old.

    “The council has mandated a professional to obtain a technical legal opinion to understand what type of opportunities there may be for compensation,” Gravina told a Federal Council meeting, according to Repubblica.

    “Last night we met with Mancini; we said goodbye for a moment because respect and education are key values of sport.”
    Italy, now under the leadership of Luciano Spalletti, will take on Malta in Euro 2024 qualifying before facing England in October.

  • Argentina-based Mancini claims Retegui “needs time” to learn the Italian style

    Argentina-based Mancini claims Retegui “needs time” to learn the Italian style

    Even though Argentina-born striker Mateo Retegui scored for a second straight match in an Euro 2024 qualifier on Sunday, Italy coach Roberto Mancini cautioned that Retegui “needs time” to learn.

    The 23-year-old is currently on loan at Tigres from Boca Juniors and is eligible to play for the reigning champions thanks to his Italian grandfather.

    However, he continues to play club football in Argentina.

    He scored the opening goal in Italy’s 2-0 Group C victory in Malta on Sunday, looking right at home.

    His debut goal in the 2-1 home loss to England on Thursday was followed by a header in the fifteenth minute.

    “He unlocked the match, he was essential today,” said Mancini.

    “But I repeat: he needs time, he still needs to learn more about European football.”

    Retegui, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and full-back Giovanni De Lorenzo were the only men to keep their places in the starting line-up after the loss to England.

    Matteo Pessina added Italy’s second goal on Sunday from a cross by Emerson in the 27th minute.

    “These are matches where you have everything to lose,” added Mancini.

    “We did some good things, some not so good.

    The important thing was to win. “We could have scored more, but there you go. These are particular kinds of matches, where it’s difficult to play, you don’t have a lot of space.”

  • ‘Polite and smart’ Retegui incites Mancini to earn Batistuta comparison from Italy coach Mancini

    ‘Polite and smart’ Retegui incites Mancini to earn Batistuta comparison from Italy coach Mancini

    Mateo Retegui, an Italian striker of Argentinean descent, is Roberto Mancini’s Serie A equivalent of Gabriel Batistuta from the Albiceleste.

    Retegui has received his first call-up from Italy for this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers, which get underway on Thursday at home against England.

    The striker for Tigre, who was born, raised, and has played his entire club career in Argentina, is eligible for the Azzurri through his grandfather.

    It is not unusual for strikers to travel between Argentina and Italy, but Retegui is going to the Italy camp rather than a Serie A team.

    “Coming like this from Argentina to Italy, not in a club team, is not so simple,” coach Mancini said on the eve of the England game.

    “It takes some time, but the guy is polite and smart. He is a good striker, young, we have great confidence and we have to give him some time.”

    Retegui has scored 28 goals in 48 Argentine Primera Division games for Tigre.

    While Mancini noted comparisons with former Napoli striker German Denis, he preferred to draw parallels with the great Batistuta.

    Batistuta joined Fiorentina from Boca Juniors in 1991 and was a great success both with the Viola and with Roma.

    “[Retegui] is a classic striker, I see that many compare him to Denis,” Mancini said. “I remember when Batistuta arrived in Italy, he reminds me of him.

    “Clearly, he is a young guy and needs time and to grow. But I don’t think it will take long to settle in.”

  • Mancini eulogises ‘little brother’ Vialli

    Mancini eulogises ‘little brother’ Vialli

    Following the death of Gianluca Vialli at the age of 58, Roberto Mancini referred to him as his “little brother” and a “perfect and courageous man.”

    Former Italian striker Vialli, who played for teams like Cremonese, Sampdoria, Juventus, and Chelsea, passed away on Friday.

    After receiving the all-clear three years prior, Vialli, who is incredibly popular and successful, had her initial pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2017 and then received a second one in 2021.

    Less than a month after he left his position as head of delegation for the Italy national team, Vialli, an ex-Chelsea manager, passed away, shocking the football world.

    The head coach of Italy, Mancini, has talked about his farewell trip to meet Sinisa Mihajlovic, a buddy he had been with for a very long time.

    He told the Corriere dello Sport: “He was powerless, with little voice, but very lucid. We talked a bit about everything, he even asked me about the get-together in December with the youths. He wanted to know the developments of the project.”

    Mancini paid a glowing tribute to Vialli, who he celebrated a European Championship triumph with at Wembley in June 2021 following a win over England.

    He added: “Luca was smiling, we joked. I told him that he was earning more than me at Sampdoria, the president was paying him more than me. A few days after Sinisa’s farewell, I lose another brother, a little brother, as I liked to call him.

    “We met when we were 16 and we never split. The entire journey together. Azzurri’s youth sector, national team, Samp, joys and pain, victories and defeats. Those two nights at Wembley.

    “Once we cried with sadness and bitterness, many years ago. The other time, we cried with joy, as we were united by destiny, before his death. Gianluca was the best of us, a complete striker, a perfect and courageous man.

    “I’ve long hoped he could become the president of Sampdoria, he would have opened an extraordinary history, as when he was a footballer. It was a privilege to be his friend and a team-mate in football and life.

    “He made me happy. He had a decisive role in the victory of the Euros. Players loved him. Gianluca had the strength and gave us the courage we didn’t know we had which he used to fight the illness, staying with us until he could.

    “I say goodbye to another brother, after Sinisa. With his strength, I’ll go forward to dedicate to him something relevant, which we’ve been dreaming of for a lifetime.”

  • Mancini sings Grifo’s praises after match-winning performance

    Roberto Mancini has lauded Vincenzo Grifo after he played a part in all three goals as Italy came from behind to beat Albania 3-1 in Wednesday’s friendly.

    A crashing Ardian Ismajli header put Albania ahead in the first half, but a pinpoint Grifo cross allowed Giovanni Di Lorenzo to equalise just four minutes later before the Freiburg man put Italy in front before the break.

    Grifo added his second after half-time to kill off the match and secure a third straight win for the European champions since a 5-2 humbling at the hands of Germany in June.

    Mancini was delighted with the 29-year-old’s impressive performance, telling Rai Sport: “Vincenzo is an extraordinary boy. Grifo is a great player and in the Bundesliga, he is scoring many goals.

    “[He is] a very good player, with important qualities. Today he scored two beautiful goals. The whole attack went well.

    “You have to play in the best way whatever the moment. We have done good things by also changing the system, that went well.”

    It was not all good news for Italy as midfielder Sandro Tonali was taken off on a stretcher after an awkward fall in the latter stages of the first half.

    But Mancini was positive after the match over Tonali’s condition, saying: “He took quite a hit, but he was conscious and I hope to get him back soon.”

    Source: Livescore

  • Mancini sets sights on 2026 triumph as Italy prepare to ‘suffer’ through World Cup

    Italy coach Roberto Mancini is already targeting World Cup glory in 2026, as the Azzurri prepare to “suffer” through this year’s tournament after failing to qualify.

    The European champions will be the most high-profile side to miss the tournament in Qatar after slipping to a humiliating play-off defeat to North Macedonia in March.

    Italy were also absent from Russia in 2018 following a play-off loss to Sweden, meaning their exile from football’s most storied competition will stretch to a minimum of 12 years.

    The Azzurri also suffered group-stage exits in 2010 and 2014, meaning their most recent World Cup knockout tie remains 2006’s final victory over France.

    Mancini, however, is determined to end Italy’s World Cup woes when the tournament heads to the United States, Mexico and Canada in four years’ time, and believes their failure to reach Qatar was unjust.

    “Winning with the national team is the best thing there can be,” he said at an event in Rome.

    “Giving Italians such joy is incredible, now we have to wait four years. We will aim to win the next World Cup in America.

    “We are working, unfortunately we will suffer until December – the disappointment of not qualifying for the World Cup does not pass me.

    “It was totally unfair, but the defeats must be faced. We did not deserve to stay out of the World Cup, but unfortunately, that’s how it went.”

    Asked why he chose to continue as Italy coach following their play-off embarrassment, the former Manchester City boss added: “Honestly, I don’t know, at that moment I just wanted to turn the page because it went badly.

    “But winning the European Championship gives an incredible joy. Now we have to wait a few years and then we want to try for those emotions again.”

    Italy have since salvaged some pride by winning their Nations League group, finishing above Hungary, Germany and England to reach next year’s finals.

    And Mancini was keen to emphasise the difficulty of that achievement, adding: “It wasn’t easy, the boys put everything in.

    “England are a danger to win the World Cup, they have an incredible squad and Hungary are a very physical team.”

    Italy will contest friendlies against Albania and Austria when elite club football pauses for the World Cup in November.

    Source: Livescore