Taskmaster Roberto Mancini has Saudi Arabia playing for the nation at the Asian Cup

Roberto Mancini might have been born in Iesi, a small town on the Adriatic Sea, but it was in Rome where he enjoyed some of his greatest successes as a player, including winning a domestic league-and-cup double with Lazio in 2000 and being a central figure in the Roman team’s twin European trophy triumphs the year before.

The city of Mancini’s glory days was not built in a day, and neither will his Saudi Arabian legacy be, but just five months since his surprise appointment as new national team manager, two weeks after he walked out of the Italy head coach's job, the Italian tactician has already left his mark on the Green Falcons.

Should Saudi Arabia lift their fourth Asian Cup on February 10, Mancini would become the first coach to combine continental glory in Europe and Asia, having led his home country to the Euro 2020 title.

The journey in Qatar 2023 has so far been full of dramatic turns, but Mancini has been able to navigate through the storms with the type of calm he oozed throughout his playing and managerial career.

Well before the team arrived in Qatar, news of injury of goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais, who had excelled for Saudi Arabia in recent years, including at the World Cup in 2022, served as an early blow for Mancini. A situation that was exasperated by the sudden departure of Al Owais’ understudy Nawaf Al Aqidi from the camp days before the opening match against Oman.

Al Aqidi, 23, was the only Saudi goalkeeper who commanded a regular starting place in the Saudi Pro League, with 16 appearances in Al Nassr colours so far this term. So when he informed Mancini of his unhappiness at not featuring in the pre-tournament friendlies, and his unwillingness to play second fiddle in Qatar, the Italian was left with