Renaissance man: How Roberto Mancini turned Italy from mess to winning machine

Italy manager Roberto Mancini as a Roman emperor. Picture: Jen Murphy

Roberto Mancini has never been content to just take part. Aged nine, he became so frustrated at losing a table tennis game that he threw a bat at his cousin’s head. At 24, he was part of a Sampdoria side that won Serie A for the first time in the club’s history, but Mancini was already looking beyond. That title-winning season had barely begun when he started telling team-mates they should aim to reach the Intercontinental Cup.

Samp fell one step short of realising his ambition, losing to Barcelona in extra-time of the 1992 European Cup final. Mancini’s competitive flame, though, never dimmed.