The head coach of Italy national team Roberto Mancini has contracted the dreaded coronavirus a few days before Fifa international break.
The national team is scheduled to play against Estonia in an international friendly on Wednesday, November 11. Unfortunately for the team, the players will be without their charismatic manager who is correctly self-isolating at his home in Rome after his coronavirus test returned positive on Friday, November 6.
Roberto Mancini who has been the head coach of Italy since 2018 is said to be asymptomatic despite testing positive for the virus. He was confirmed to be a carrier of the virus during a routine coronavirus test carried out on the technical crew of the Italy national team.
Only Mancini’s test result returned positive which means that the 55-year-old Italian tactician might not be available for Italy matches against Estonia on Wednesday, November 11, against Poland on November 15, and against Bosnia on November 18 in the UEFA Nations League.
A statement from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) read: “As part of the periodic controls undertaken by the FIGC on the Italy coaching staff ahead of the coming break for UEFA competitions, head coach Roberto Mancini tested positive for Covid-19,” a statement read.
“He remains asymptomatic and, in compliance with the active guidelines, the Azzurri head coach went into self-isolation at his home in Rome.”
Roberto Mancini before COVID-19
Roberto Mancini became more renowned as a football manager when he helped Inter Milan to win three Serie A titles in a row (2005 to 2008). Afterward, he was made the manager of Manchester City between 2009 and 2013 where he further established his name as a world-class coach. While at Manchester City, the Italian tactician helped the club to win an FA Cup in 2011 and a Premier League title in 2012.
The tactician gave up on coaching football clubs in 2018 after managing Zenit Saint Petersburg for two years. The FIGC announced him as the Italy head coach in 2018.
His appointment as the country’s head coach came after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1958. Mancini’s contract with the country is scheduled to end this year but the contract is expected to be extended since he has led Italy to qualify for Euro 2020. The coach qualified the country in style as he led them to 10 wins out of 10 during the qualification rounds.
Mancini is still officially married to Federica and the couple has a daughter and two sons, Filippo and Andrea. The two sons are footballers who are still clamping the ladder of the game.
