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In Sportskeeda’s exclusive “Top 10 European Managers of the Season”, lets take a look at the Number 9 on the list.
Read #10 in the Managers Series here (Stay tuned on www.SportsKeeda.com, Each day a new manager)
#9: Roberto Mancini
When Roberto Mancini took up the cudgels at Manchester City in December, 2009 he was well aware that he was stepping into a musical chair contest popularly orchestrated these days among footballing circles by rich owners in order to satiate their hunger for instantaneous success at the highest level. After all, Mancini’s previous employer had given him the boot after he had delivered 3 Scudettos and 2 Italian cups at Internazionale. Guiding Manchester City to 5th spot, their highest ever finish in the Premier League while guaranteeing European Football (after narrowly missing out on the last Champions League place) was seen as a commendable enough achievement by Sheikh Mansour, one that meant Mancini would be at helm of the Manchester City Football Club for a first full season in 2010-11. What a decision it turned out to be! No, Mancini did not land the Barclays Premier League; it was still their bitter cross-town rivals who took that credit. But Mancini had transformed a club comprising of individual talents in certain areas of the pitch into a unit which became very hard to break down. Automatic qualification in next year’s Champions League, finishing level on points with second placed Chelsea and the sweetest of them all: FA Cup glory after having ousted Manchester United in the semi finals; Roberto Mancini has already earned a place for himself in the City folklore plus there is no doubt there will another round of splash the cash from Sheikh Mansour ensuring Mancini has at his disposal the necessary monetary backing as he prepares to take Manchester City to unprecedented levels not just domestically but also in Europe. Here is a look back at how Roberto Mancini weaved his magic.
Summer signings
The FIFA World Cup had just got over and new stars were born. The transfer market was busier than ever and sometimes when managers can afford the luxuries that Mancini could, they tend to spend meaninglessly. Mancini however was astute in his signings or rather he had done his homework apriori. He had identified chinks in the City armour and started his transfer activity tightening up his defence. Clearly full backs were his priority as Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov arrived from Hamburg and Lazio respectively. Next he signed two world class midfielders, ones who would go one to shape City’s destiny in the 2010-11 season. Yaya Toure arrived from Barcelona and became Man City’s engine room and David Silva, fresh from World Cup glory, arrived from Valencia. Though he was often deployed on the wings, he looked most potent in a marauding role behind the strikers. That he had to play with different strike partners did not seem to affect him much and he added much needed creativity to an otherwise defensive minded unit. Finally arrived the volatile yet highly talented Mario Balotelli. His talent was never in question but as far his temperament to perform consistently at the highest level was concerned; the verdict is still very much pending on that. Mancini though wasn’t going to let the English media get Balotelli that easily.
“ All of us are said to be bad boys when we are young. But I have worked with Mario before and he is a normal person. He is young player, only 20 years old, who can do a lot in the Premier League. He has all the qualities needed to become a fantastic player.”
The season 2010-11
Manchester City had a roller coaster ride this season, scaling the topmost rung of the Premiership ladder as well as sliding into troughs in between. City started off handsomely and rarely looked like they would drop out of the top four. However, Mancini was severely criticized for his defensive tactics particularly in a home game against Manchester United and in the aftermath of a dull 0-0 draw against Alex McLeish’s Birmingham City. After a dip in form in October-November, City were to bounce back in style in the Christmas period during which they twice held the top spot in the Barclays Premier League. Mancini bagged the Manager of the Month award in December as City secured their place in the Round of 32 in the Europa Liga.
The arduous task of having to compete on three fronts, the Barclays Premier League, The FA Cup and Europa League finally got to the Blues as well as their manager. As the Blues’ challenge in the Barclays Premier League waned and they were dumped out of Europe by Dynamo Kiev, the gaffer vehemently spoke out against the hectic schedule.
“In my life I have never seen that a team arrives in February and March and has to play every two days. This is a big problem, not only for us but for all the teams. Something should change because this is impossible for all English players. At every World Cup and European Championships, there is a problem for England because all their players are tired. We should have more respect for them. They are not machines.”
Despite their form ebbing after turn of the year, they successfully pulled a leaf out of Manchester United’s book: they finished strongly. They first knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup in the semi finals at Wembley and then Yaya Toure repeated his semi final heroics in the final against Stoke to alleviate the City faithful of 42 years of drought. However, City were not content with success in football’s oldest cup competition. Champions League football was now well in their horizon and they would not just seal their place but they would have sweet revenge over Tottenham who had shattered the Blues’ dreams last season with an identical 0-1 victory. With the Gunners faltering, City ended the season in 3rd place, relieving themselves of having to win a play-off pre season to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition. In fact they finished behind Chelsea only on goal difference.
Realizing a 36 year old dream
Mancini’s magic
Despite reaching the heights they had not scaled before, City were criticized primarily because of their defensive tactics. In this regard, it is worthwhile mentioning that although their football did lack imagination at times, they had the best defensive record in the league. After all, it was pragmatic to build from the back. When Mourinho took over at Stamford Bridge and ushered in the era of Blue revolution, he had treaded a similar path. Clichéd but fact is fact, football is very much a result oriented business and Mancini delivered.
‘I like 1-0 wins. When you don’t concede a goal and you have players like Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez or David Silva, you win 90%. I prefer we are boring for two to three matches and we win 1-0… If you watch teams that won titles, they conceded very few goals.’
It is never easy to get a fresh set of players adapting to a system quickly, particularly in the fast and furious English game. He was not helped by the constant attention Balotelli attracted for his antics or Manchester City skipper, Carlos Tevez’s public declaration mid-season that he felt homesick and wanted to leave. Credit must be given to how Mancini was careful enough to not wash dirty linen in public. His spat with Craig Bellamy wasn’t one that eluded the British media, but although he may not be as entertaining or vocal like Jose Mourinho, he knew when to stamp his authority. City’s success would always be attributed largely to funds available at their disposal but City aren’t the only club having that luxury. Chelsea, Real Madrid easily compete with the Blues with few other top clubs not lagging far behind. There have been well publicized cases of gaffers with huge reputations failing to deliver despite having the cash. Thus it would be folly to depreciate Mancini’s achievement. In fact you might well have to agree when the Italian responds to a certain Sir Alex’s taunt of City’s spending when he says,
“If you want to buy a new player you must spend money. It is the market. I respect his [Ferguson's] opinion but Manchester United, not Manchester City spent a lot of money in the past. “
The future
Before we canonize Mancini any further let’s not get carried away, he is yet to land either the Premiership trophy or the Champions League. The FA Cup is a great start but another season with just an FA Cup to show for might well be his last season in-charge. He will have to deliver in the Premiership and at least put up a decent show in the Champions League, an essential part of which would be to get used to playing thrice a week. Having said that, the man deserves credit for his vision, astuteness and yes even his achievements thus far. More importantly he has set in motion a plan which will look to ensure City can sustain a minimum level of success year after year. City will definitely be strengthening their squad over the summer and with winds of change blowing at Old Trafford and Chelsea still manager-less, City will surely get a crack at the title provided they are up for it. If you are a City fan still skeptical about Mancini’s credibility, here is something for you to chew on:
Mancini has never failed to reach a semi-final of a major cup competition in every season he has managed.
