Leicester City In 100 Players: Roberto Mancini
In the penultimate article of this series, we have included Roberto Mancini. He only played for Leicester for less than a month, at a time when Peter Taylor’s team was in the top six of the Premier League, but without doubt he was one of the most gifted players to ever wear a Leicester City shirt.
In his five appearances for the Foxes, in January and February 2001, he was extremely influential. He was a creative and technically gifted deep lying forward who was a playmaker with vision, able to shape games with his skill on the ball, with his accurate passing and with his deceptive movement. He was a delight to watch. He greatly impressed not only his new team-mates but all the fans who watched him.
Mancini arrived at Leicester City on loan from Lazio with an incredible footballing pedigree. Between 1981 and 2000, he played 733 games in all competitions, scoring 201 goals. He also represented Italy 36 times between 1984 and 1994, playing in UEFA EURO 1988 and in the FIFA World Cup in 1990.
At club level he played for Bologna before becoming the world’s most expensive teenager when he moved to Sampdoria in 1982. At Sampdoria, where he stayed for 15 years, he won the Serie A title, four Coppa Italia titles, the Italian Super Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup. He was also a European Cup finalist against Barcelona in 1992.
In 1997 he moved to Lazio where he won a further league title, two more Coppa Italia titles (winning the League and Cup double in 1999-2000), the Italian Super Cup. the European Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. He also won several prestigious individual awards whilst playing in Serie A. He later became Sven-Göran Eriksson’s number two at Lazio, before joining Leicester City on loan as a result of Sven’s recommendation to Peter Taylor.
Mancini left Leicester City much sooner than he expected when he was offered the manager’s job at Fiorentina. This was followed by managerial posts at Lazio, Inter Milan (twice), Manchester City, Galatasaray, Zenit St Petersburg, the Italian national team and his current post as manager of Saudi Arabia.
It is remarkable that a player with such a reputation played for Leicester City at that particular time. He won’t be forgotten by the Foxes fans who watched him play, even though his stay was short.