Roberto Mancini said he wanted to work in England and, after he was overlooked in favour of Carlo Ancelotti for the Chelsea job, here he is at Manchester City. He joins the aforementioned Carletto, Gianfranco Zola, Fabio Capello and Giovanni Trapattoni in spreading the influence of Italian tacticians in an area of Europe that traditionally criticised our style of football.
It is amusing that with certain television and newspaper pundits still trotting out the old ‘catenaccio’ cliché of Serie A, they are all clamouring to bring a bit of that approach to the British Isles.
Will Mancio be a success at Eastlands? Considering he’ll probably revolutionise the squad during a January spending spree, it’s rather difficult to make any kind of prediction. I can say that he has three Scudetti on his CV, but one was handed to him by the Calciopoli judges, another thanks to a complete lack of competition and a third snatched in the final 20 minutes of the season. I may scoff – and I frequently do – but Jose Mourinho hasn’t done any better on the Champions League front than his predecessor.
Some in Italy say this brain drain of Coaching talent is bad for football in the peninsula, as Luciano Spalletti goes to Zenit St Petersburg and yet more consider overseas experiences. I happen to consider it a positive, as it helps end the myth that the Serie A mentality is boring, negative and defensive. Can you think of a less catenaccio-style tactician than Spalletti? Of course some people will never change their views of the Italian game, but these are the same folks who when asked about a Frenchman will picture a mime in a stripy shirt, a beret and a garland of garlic around his neck.
There is another reason this is to be considered a boon for Serie A, as despite the export of so many of our top managers, there are still only three foreign Coaches in the entire League. Imagine that situation in the Premiership – impossible! It is giving the opportunity for promising young tacticians like Gian Piero Gasperini, Walter Mazzarri, Mimmo Di Carlo and Massimiliano Allegri to gain valuable top flight experience and create a more balanced Serie A than we’ve seen in many a year. There’s quality all the way through, as seen by recent shock victories for Bari, Parma, Cagliari and Napoli.
Does that mean these managers will go on to spread their wings abroad some day? It may well be the case and I’d welcome anything that helps people understand what Italian football is really all about.
Did you know the "best football league" in the world wants Italian tacticians to take care of its football teams? Here is a good read from my favorite website! A good one for the nay sayers when it comes to Italian football!
