Facing the media in Riyadh for the first time since taking over as Saudi Arabia national team manager, Roberto Mancini was clear in what constitutes his primary aim in the new role.
“Our target is to try to win the Asian Cup after 27 years,” the Italian said on Monday, in reference to the rescheduled 2023 edition in Qatar early next year and a nod, also, to Saudi Arabia’s remarkable drought in the continent’s premier competition.
It served as a stark reminder as to how long the country has waited to once more be crowned champions of Asia. As three-time winners, Saudi Arabia sit level with Iran and second only to Japan (four) in terms of championship titles, but their most recent arrived some time ago, in 1996.
Back then, Mancini was entering the final stages of a trophy-laden decade and a half as an accomplished forward with Serie A’s Sampdoria, and he would go on to play for four more years.
From there, he forged a career as a manager of significant standing and distinguished success, coaching at Fiorentina, Lazio, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Galatasaray and Zenit St Petersburg before spending five, admittedly mixed, years at the helm of the Italian national team.
His latest post, though, represents a sizeable step into the unknown. Even at 58 and boasting a gilded CV – it is headlined by a 2020 European Championship title with Italy, three Scudettos at Inter, City’s first Premier League crown – Mancini is yet to manage on the international scene outside his homeland (something that patently served his predecessor, Herve Renard, well).
Indeed, if Mancini is to deliver on his initial objective, he must get to know quickly his squad and his new surroundings; only four and a half months separate his appointment and the
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