Roberto Mancini on the cover of Sportweek

During the week of Pitti Uomo, the most prestigious men’s fashion event to which we dedicate the special issue of Sportweek (on newsstands tomorrow with La Gazzetta dello Sport at 2 euros) which opens the new year, we have chosen Roberto Mancini as the ideal “testimonial”, always a symbol of elegance and style. He was as a footballer, on the pitch with his refined plays, and off when he designed the official team uniforms (the second of Sampdoria, the red one, bears his signature), he is now as a coach, for how he dresses and how he is proposes. The coach, as we have all seen, proposes himself as a … winner: “We are strong, what we have done is not accidental” he says. “Let’s go and get Qatar: I’ll tell the boys this”, and much more in the long interview in which he tells, in addition to his tastes in clothing, how he built the European triumph and who is aiming to conquer the world one , “dreaming of the Italy-Brazil 1-0 final”.

Without going so far in time, our gaze rests in the meantime on the African Cup, which from 9 January to 6 February will involve 24 national teams and many players in the middle of the season: a “disturbance” for the clubs but not for many big players. champions like Koulibaly, Osimhen, Salah and Mané, whose attachment to the shirt of their country is stronger than European logic. In our house, however, it is time for the Italian Super Cup, which on Wednesday 12 will bring the Italian derby on the pitch: Inter and Juve face off at the Meazza and we will tell you how it went the first time, 16 years ago, between feats, mistakes and the inevitable aftermath of controversy… The “footwear”, on the other hand, does not make people discuss, if anything, smile. In fashion week, here is an accessory that manages to set a trend on the pitch: socks. There are those who wear them rolled up as Omar Sivori was the first to do in the 1950s, some above the knee, others with holes in them. The latest found? Put them high, up to cover the thigh, as if they were stockings. And then we complained about the headband …

But it doesn’t stop there. On Tomorrow’s Sportweek you will find much more, including an interview with the always beautiful Elisabetta Canalis in a kickboxeur version (“Never been one for women’s sports … The adrenaline of combat sports is what is right for me”) and, speaking of fashion men’s, a tribute in the 75th from birth to the style champion David Bowie with all his iconic disguises on stage.