The surprising resignation of Italy coach Roberto Mancini is a lesson in the wrong timing of right decisions. The 75 million euro offer from Saudi Arabia is particularly damaging to the reputation of the country’s former darling.
A “Lightning from the Blue” was the resignation, wrote the “Gazzetta dello Sport”, and later put the term to use “Earthquake” after. However, the Azzurri’s sky was not entirely clear beforehand. The pain after missing the 2022 World Cup qualification was deep. Mancini should have taken his hat off, many say, some of whom also admit that in this crisis situation they themselves were in favor of continuing the path under Mancini. After all, he was the hero of the euro and had given Italy the title after the generation change had taken place.
But then the qualifying debacle against North Macedonia followed. At the time, Mancini was about to resign, as he explained in an interview with the daily newspaper “Repubblica”. Association President Gabriele Gravina wanted to keep him. This in turn is said to have been the trigger for the resignation. At least that’s how Mancini puts it in the “Repubblica”.
Dispute with the association about coaching staff and failure clause
One point of contention was Gravina’s interference with Mancini’s coaching staff. Long-standing assistant coaches were seconded to head the junior teams. The association management wanted to implement a continuous game idea from youth to the A-Team. “It’s not a revolution, it’s an evolution. We want to break new ground and use the knowledge of international football.”Gravina explained less than two weeks ago.
However, Mancini did not want to be the leader of evolution by Gravina’s grace. “I’ve never seen a federation president change the staff of his head coach. He’s wanted it for a year. I made it clear to him that it wasn’t possible. But then he took advantage of the expiry of some contracts.”Mancini explained his anger.
He was also annoyed that the association did not want to remove a failure clause from the contract. This provides for an end to activities in the event of non-qualification for Euro 2024. Mancini, who had already missed the World Cup, apparently did not trust his current squad to make the leap to the finals. He wanted to give himself leeway in the event of failure.
A practiced taker
Now he resents the uproar he caused. He was horrified at what could be read about him, he said: “I didn’t kill anyone.” No, he just did what he used to like to do. The brusque finish is one of his specialties. He resigned from Fiorentina in 2002 after the club’s Ultras ambushed him outside the home after a defeat. In March 2008 he announced an early termination of his contract following Inter Milan’s disappointing elimination from the Champions League by Liverpool.
And in 2016, after a 6-1 friendly defeat by Tottenham, he left Inter for a second time. If he doesn’t like it anymore, he leaves. This obstinacy even makes the 58-year-old a little likeable in the tough football business. He tries to be the master of his own destiny.
Tempting petrodollars in the land of 196 executions
But now the timing is not right. The resignation is too close to the next qualifiers for the European Championship in early September. And in the background lurks the accusation that Mancini is only leaving because of the money – money that Saudi Arabia promises him. The “Corriere della Sera” put the last three-year contract offer from the Saudi association at around 25 million euros per year.
Confidants of the Saudi association president assured the newspaper that Mancini was number one on the wish list – after cancellations by José Mourinho (currently AS Roma) and Luciano Spalletti, who is on a sabbatical after the master coup with SSC Napoli.
“Inexcusable”
Mancini has now also confirmed that he has received contract offers from Saudi Arabia. His commitment there would not even be completely illogical. Since his time at Manchester City, when he gave the Abu Dhabi-financed club its first championship in decades, he was considered a sheik understander. In addition, the current national team of Saudi Arabia does not have an accurate centre-forward like the Italian one. So Mancini is tried and tested when it comes to finding solutions.
A novelty, however, is letting your own association down as national coach in order to hire someone else. Mainly because of the wrong timing and the tempting contract from the desert state with the firing squads – According to Amnesty International, 196 executions last year alone – Mancini is now even criticized by the media that have long favored him. The “Gazetta dello Sport”, for example, considers his behavior “inexcusable”.