Roberto Mancini has promised to make history as he accepts his appointment as Saudi Arabia national team manager.
Speaking on a clip shared on his social media handle, the former Manchester City manager said;
“I made history in Europe, now is time to make history with Saudi”
Roberto Mancini will succeed Herve Renard as Saudi Arabia national team manager. He agreed terms with the gulf state for a four-year contract worth €25m.
He will take charge of his first game against Costa Rica on 8 September 2023.
His emergence as Saudi Arabia national team manager comes after he resigned as Italy national team coach on 13 August 2023.
Roberto Mancini, 58, is undoubtedly, one of the most revered and successful managers in Europe with his unrivaled antecedents across top European clubs
Roberto Mancini managerial career
Mancini started his managerial career in Italy, his homeland, immediately after calling time on his playing career as a loanee at Leicester City in 2001.
Mancini called off his loan spell with the Foxes after just four matches to take up a managerial job at Fiorentina – a top serie A side.
It was a tale of contrasting fortunes for the young manager at Fiorentina. He won Coppa Italia but Fiorentina ended up being relegated.
Mancini quit the role after ten months and joined Lazio in 2002 as manager. He qualified Lazio for Champions League in his first season, hit the last four of UEFA Cup and won his second Coppa Italia.
In his second season, he led the club to a sixth-place finish in Serie A and left the club after then to Inter Milan.
At Inter Milan, Roberto Mancini took his managerial career to another level, leading the Nerazzuri to their first domestic title since 1989. He won the Serie A with the club on his debut season. More striking was his unrivaled breakthrough at Inter Milan.
After leading the team to their first Serie A and domestic title in over a decade, Roberto led Inter Milan to three consecutive Serie A titles, including two consecutive Coppa Italia, and two consecutive Supercoppa Italiana trophy.
Despite his domestic successes with Inter Milan, Mancini made little progress in Champions League at Inter Milan. He was sacked in 2008 by the club and stayed off football management for months before resuming but, this time, in the Premier League.
He was appointed as Manchester City manager in 2009. He oversaw the rise of Manchester City from a Premier League minnows to giants.
Mancini signed big-name players such as Yaya Toure, David Silva, and Kolarov, who changed the face of the game at Etihad. He won the FA Cup with Manchester City in 2010/11 season and subsequently clinched the club’s first Premier League title in 2011/12 season, and Community Shield in 2012.
He was sacked by Manchester City in 2012 after the club lost FA Cup final to Wigan. After his sack by Manchester City, he joined Galatasaray on a three-year contract in 2013 but terminated the contract a year later after winning the Turkish Super Cup.
In 2014, he was back at Inter Milan but left the club on mutual agreement two years later. Mancini’s last spell as a club manager was at Zenith Saint Petersburg. He joined the Russian giants in 2017 and terminated his contract a year later to take up his first national team job with Italy.
He won the 2020 European Championships with Italy and finished third place in 2020/21 and 2022/23 UEFA Nations League.
On 13 August 2023, he resigned from the role amid rumors linking him with Saudi Arabia national team job. On Sunday, August 27, it was confirmed that he has taken the managerial job.
