After Italy, Roberto Mancini should join a new selection. The former Inter Milan or Manchester City coach will take charge of Saudi Arabia on Monday August 28, according to information from the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta Dello Sport. Mancini, 58, has reportedly signed a four-year contract, until 2027, with the Saudi Football Federation.
He will participate Monday in Riyadh in his first press conference, specifies the Italian daily, without mentioning a source. Saudi Arabia, which caused a sensation at the last World Cup in Qatar by beating the Argentina of Lionel Messi, future world champion, 2 to 1 in the group stage, had no coach since the departure of Frenchman Hervé Renard , left to train the French women’s team.
The wealthy Gulf monarchy has paid big names in world football like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema or Neymar in the hope of changing its image and reshaping its economy. Mancini had assured that his resignation from the position of coach of Italy was not linked to an offer from Saudi Arabia and had justified it by the latest decisions of the president of the Italian Federation (FIGC), Gabriele Gravina, in particular on the composition of its staff.
“In my opinion, we were no longer on the same wavelength,” he told several Italian dailies. “Something will happen when I’m interested, but Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with it. »
Under his leadership, from May 2018 to August 2023, Italy won Euro 2021 and set a record streak of 37 games unbeaten between September 2018 and October 2021.
But La Nazionale also failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, missing their second consecutive finals and did not get off to a good start in Euro 2024 qualifying in Germany, losing at home to England ( 2-1).
During his playing career, Mancini wore the Sampdoria shirt from 1982 to 1997, forming with his recently deceased compatriot Gianluca Vialli one of Serie A’s most prolific attacking duos.
He was selected 36 times (4 goals) in the Italian team. His coaching career began at Fiorentina in 2001, before leading Lazio Rome (2002-2004), Inter Milan (2004-2008 and 2014-2016) with three Italian championship titles, or Manchester City (2009-2013) which he led in 2012 to its first English league title for 44 years.