After being unveiled to the media as Italy coach on Tuesday, Roberto Mancini has admitted that he dreams of lifting the World Cup as Azzurri boss.
It was something that eluded the former Zenit coach during his playing career with the Azzurri but he now has a chance to put that right on the dugout.
While those comments come at a time after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 edition, Mancini wants to wipe the slate clean and is determined to put the peninsula back among global football’s elite.
“Becoming coach of your country is the highest aspiration for any coach and there comes a moment in everyone’s career where you have to make these choices but this is the right moment for me,” Mancini told the assembled media at Coverciano.
“I want to do something for the national team, who didn’t go to the World Cup and for the fans because this has been difficult. I had a long-lasting relationship with the national side.
“Actually, I think I was the only man to be coached by [Enzo] Bearzot, [Azeglio] Vicini and [Arrigo] Sacchi and it was a period in which we were quite unlucky. Unfortunately, we never managed to win a World Cup or European Championship but we came close.
“I want to be a good coach for my country and I want to take Italy to the summit of the world, of Europe and of the Nations League, which is coming up soon. I want to bring the national team back to those high levels and with hard work, we can do it.”
Mancini, who also claimed that it was too early to discuss his tactical plans for the side, did reveal that his long-time protege Mario Balotelli will likely be in line for a national return, amid much public outcry from fans who want to see the in-form Nice man pull on the blue jersey again.
“The best thing about the national team is that he will never have problems in terms of quality because we have many great players in Italy, even during difficult times,” he added.
“We can always find players of quality and we will certainly talk with Mario and probably bring him in. He is a part of that group of players who we want to see back at his best again.
“Hopefully he can play like he did for [Cesare] Prandelli at the European Championship. There are several players who can be useful for us and we’ll talk to them and see what they want to do.”
