For Roberto Mancini, the road to redemption is promising to end where it all began. If Italy beat England in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday, the Azzurri coach will experience the highlights of his managerial career on the same touchline as he endured at his nadir.
In May 2013, Mancini was sacked as Manchester City manager after his team lost to Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup final at Wembley. Eight years later, after traversing a winding path to the top, the 56-year-old has the opportunity to emerge as European champion from the same stadium overseeing Italy's remarkable revival as a major power . The failure of the team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
But while Mancini has transformed Italy since Gian Piero Ventura three years ago, he himself has turned to Italy after his sacking at the Etihad after a year of guiding the club after several repercussions with players, staff and senior management at City. strengthened again. to their first league title in 44 years.
City sources have told ESPN that Mancini was "challenging," "tough" and a "chameleon" during his four-year stint at the club, while he charmed the media and supporters with his public persona. The scene was of a confrontational and stormy "Diva", who lost the support of influential players.
Yet at Euro 2020, the only noise coming out of Italy's camp about Mancini is positive. Marco Verratti and Federico Bernardeschi have both credited the former Inter Milan coach with bringing "enthusiasm" back to the national team, while defender Leonardo Bonucci said: "He is a top manager when it comes to taking the pressure off players and bringing enthusiasm." It comes down to it. And the light-heartedness to the team. That gives us a lot of confidence."
Mancini's decision to publicize the opinion of senior players such as Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini is another sign of his evolution from hardline manager, which brought success and acrimony to City as a more collegial coach, now Italy's first European. One win away from the title. Since 1968.
Winning at Wembley eight years after the Wigan defeat would square the circle for Mancini, after his departure from the city had tarnished his reputation.
Despite winning an FA Cup and the Premier League at the Etihad, he hasn't come close to a job in English football – he enrolled his daughter at a stage at a London finishing school in the hope that an offer will come along – and he Only ended up in Italy's job when no other credible candidate came forward.
Failed spells from Galatasaray and Zenit St Petersburg, either side of a two-year worthless spell at Inter, signaled Mancini's career drifting into the wild, but Euro 2020 has made him a coaching star again.
So how did it go so wrong at City after such initial success, and why did it take Mancini so long to come back on top?
According to those who worked with him at City, Mancini's eccentricity, superstition and club demands eventually led to his sacking and his journey back to prominence.
"Roberto was certainly highly impressed," said a former city aide. "He brought success to the club and signed some of City's best players to date, but by the end, he was out with a lot of people and made a lot of enemies."
There were high-profile, public disputes with Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli — "Carlos hated F---Mancini," a source told ESPN — while his indulgence of Balotelli angered many senior players, who Angered by the player's persistent failure. to deliver Despite being photographed fighting with Balotelli on the training ground, Mancini still gave the forward countless opportunities to redeem himself when his teammates had long abandoned him.
Star players like Samir Nasri, Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart faced the brunt of public criticism, while Mancini gave injury-ravaged defender Micah Richards the nickname "Swarovski" because he was "fragile as a crystal".
Mancini thought nothing of criticizing the City hierarchy in the media, questioning the ability of then-director of football Brian Marwood for failing to sign Robin van Persie from Arsenal after their 2012 title win. Van Persie signed with Manchester United instead, and his goals later won the title to Old Trafford a year later.
Mansini's superstitions also raised a question mark on his attitude towards the job and whether he was becoming too much of a distraction.
"Roberto had superstitions about everything," said a city source. "He didn't want anything purple in the club, he would insist on using a small cabin for press conferences instead of a big marquee, because he thought it was lucky - he even said that one The FA Cup semi-final news conference was held in the cabin, even though it was really hot outside.
"There was an occasion when he insisted that players eat meatballs in flight back from a Champions League game against Real Madrid because that's what they had after the last European game before winning the next league match.
"We spent a day and a half in Madrid trying to find some meatballs for the flight home. When we were told we couldn't order a la carte for in-flight meals, Roberto decided to make a huge vat of meatballs. suggested and it's giving players to take them on the plane. I don't think he's got his way with that."
On another occasion, after a Europa League game against Juventus in Turin, Mancini refused to return to Manchester immediately after the game due to concerns about sub-zero temperatures and snow on the wings. The flight was postponed until the next morning, forcing the players and staff to check back at their hotels at 1 pm.
But though Mancini may have lashed out at the staff and players behind the scenes, he was present with the media in a smiling, joking manner. He used to distribute espresso to reporters at his press briefings and take a Manchester press pack to lunch at Cicchetti, the city's favorite Italian restaurant.
And City fans love him for being the first club manager to have the attitude and confidence to wear a blue and white scarf at the touchline and engage in a verbal fight with Sir Alex Ferguson at United.
Mancini knew how to play the PR game, but it wasn't always what it seemed. He often cycled to the club's training ground, knowing that photographers would be waiting along the way, but club staff would state that he had a driver on the way in case of rain or if he simply wanted to minimize the move. There was some opportunity.
He was also conceivable about his lifetime as city manager. The club needed his frictionless style to accelerate their development as winners in the early years following the 2008 Abu Dhabi takeover, but they knew it could only last so long.
When asked about his enthusiasm about the club's plans for a new world-class training ground, he had not expected to step into it. “There is no point in asking me what plants I want to plant in my office,” he said. "It won't be my office when it opens."
Mancini's success with Italy suggests he could land yet another Premier League job, however. The Italians are unbeaten in 33 games leading up to Sunday's final - a sequence dating back to September 2018 - and they have undeniably breathed new life into one of the sport's great football nations.
His future with Italy appears secure in the long run after he signed a new contract in May that links him to a job until after the 2026 World Cup, but he is once again in great demand in club games after Euro 2020. Will be
However, the immediate concern for Mancini is winning Sunday. Nothing else can matter now. But if the Italians are late for the game, don't worry.
A City source told ESPN: "When City defeated United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in 2011, the team bus took a route to the stadium that was against police advice." "But because we won that day, Roberto insisted that we go to Wembley the same way for the final against Stoke, even though the police made it clear that we would not be given an escort on the field.
"Roberto stuck to his guns and the bus followed the same route as before - and we hit traffic, got delayed and turned into Wembley less than an hour before kick-off. The players also had a walk." There was no time. On the pitch before the game. But we won the FA Cup that day, so Roberto would still say he was right."