Roberto Mancini didn’t need long time to find a new port. Now, Mancini is officially the coach of the Saudi Arabian national team. This 58 year old figure from Italy receives a fairly fantastic salary.
Quoted from Football Italia, the former Lazio and Inter Milan coach will earn 25 million euros per season. A number of reports stated that the press conference regarding Mancini’s appointment was held at a hotel and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced it via video on Sunday (27/8/2023) evening.
“I am very happy to announce that I am joining the Saudi Arabian Football Federation as head coach of the national team,” Mancini wrote on Instagram. “I am delighted and honored to have been selected for such a prestigious role as a sign of appreciation and recognition for all the work done over the years. I would like to thank President Yasser Al Misehal. I accept this exciting new project based on a shared vision and goal to develop the national football sector as well as young talents and future generations, which are always close to my heart. I believe this assignment is also a recognition of the importance of Italian football and I will proudly continue to bring Italian culture to the world.”
Mancini decided to resign from his position as coach of the Italian national team on August 13 2023. He took this decision nine days after being given additional authority as coordinator of the Italian U21 and U20 teams.
The former Lazio player served for five years as coach of Gli Azzurri, nicknamed the Italian national team. He began to refine it in 2018. His performance was satisfactory because Mancini was considered capable of resurrecting the Italian national team. Because, two years after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, they won the Euro 2020 title.
Apart from that, Mancini also managed to lead the Italian national team to a record of 31 consecutive unbeaten matches, aka being undefeated. This fact made Mancini break the record previously held by Vittorio Pozzo (30 unbeaten matches).
Unfortunately, after lifting the Euro 2020 trophy, the graph of the appearance of the Italian national team has decreased. As a result, the Azzurri, who are collectors of four World Cup titles, again failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.
