Roberto Mancini
Soccer Super Stars
Episode No. 16

Roberto Mancini (born November 27, 1964 in Jesi, Ancona) is an Italian football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Internazionale in Serie A.

One of the most talented players of his age, Mancini debuted in Italian Serie A for Bologna on September 12, 1981. The following year he was bought by Sampdoria, for which he played until 1997. Later he played for Lazio (1997--2000) and Leicester City (2001).

With Sampdoria, he formed a dynamic strike partnership with Gianluca Vialli, and led the club to its only scudetto in 1991, four Coppa Italias (1985, 1988, 1989 and 1994) and a Cup Winners' Cup in 1990. He also lost the final of the 1991--1992 European Cup against Barcelona. With Lazio he won his second scudetto (2000) and Cup Winners' Cup titles (1999) as well as two more Coppa Italias (1998 and 2000).

Despite his success at club level, Mancini never became a regular for Italy. He only won 36 caps and scored four goals for his country, and his only major championship finals were Euro 1988 and the 1990 World Cup. At U-21 level, Mancini finished runner-up in UEFA U-21 Championship 1986, and reached the semi-finals in UEFA U-21 Championship 1984.

After retiring as a player, Mancini coached Fiorentina (2001--02) and Lazio (2002--04) before moving to Inter in 2004. He won the Coppa Italia with both Fiorentina (2001) and Lazio (2004). During his tenure with Fiorentina, Mancini was occasionally willing to come out and play for the team due to the club having financial problems with its players. With Inter, he has won two Coppa Italia (2005 and 2006), two Supercoppa Italiana (2005 and 2006) and two Scudetti (2005--06 and 2006--07), becoming the most successful Inter coach of the last 10 years. However, Mancini failed to replicate his domestic successes with Inter at the European level, as he never managed to win the UEFA Champions League during his time as nerazzurri boss, differently than crosstown rivals AC Milan.

On March 11, 2008, Mancini announced his intention to stand down at the end of the 2007-08 season after his side were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after a 3-0 aggregate loss to Liverpool in the round of 16. Mancini rescinded this decision on March 12 after meeting with Inter president Massimo Moratti.

His son, Filippo, is currently a member of Inter's youth team. The young midfielder made his first senior appearance for the side in the Coppa Italia in January 2008, and is currently on loan in the English Premiership with Manchester City.

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