AGI – “The fact that I have managed to put together a team that I like gives me great satisfaction and I am optimistic for the future. In one year we will have the European Championship, the Nations League finals and the World Cup, the goal is to be able to winning knowing that it will not be easy and that you will also need a little luck “. This was stated by Roberto Mancini, the national team coach who today renewed his contract until 2026.
The adventure of ‘Mancio’ on the bench of Italy began on May 14, 2018: signing of the contract that would have tied him to the Azzurri for two years plus automatic renewal in the event of qualification for EURO 2020. The day after, the FIGC recalls, the first official outing in Coverciano, where his first meeting would begin in the following days . The debut on the bench, 52 coach of the history of the national team, is dated May 28, 2018, in San Gallo (Switzerland), in the match won 2-1 with Saudi Arabia; the first at home is instead on June 4 in Turin, 1-1 with the Netherlands. Since that moment, Mancini has relaunched an Italy back from the disappointment of not participating in the World Cup in Russia allowing it to qualify with a clear path to the European Championship starting on 11 June and taking it to the Final Four of the UEFA Nations League scheduled for October.
The journey into qualifying for the Qatar 2022 World Cup also began last March with three wins in the first three races. In summary, in three years Mancini has established a long series of impressive numbers, becoming the coach with the best average points in Italian history, after having set the record of 11 consecutive victories in 2019 which surpassed the previous one of Vittorio Pozzo (9) of the 30s, of 10 victories out of 10 races in the European qualifiers, for the first time in our history.
With 70 points he is the coach with the most points after 30 games and the one with the highest percentage of wins: 70% (21 wins), ahead of Pozzo, Sacchi, Vicini and Lippi; equals Lippi in the unbeaten 25-game series (last knockout in September 2018, with Portugal in Lisbon), with the possibility of reaching Pozzo, who has reached 30 games as unbeaten. Among other things, Italy has a series of 605 minutes underway without conceding a goal (6 full games) and confirming an iron defense: only 3 goals conceded in the last 15 games and 18 times out of 30 has closed with the clean sheet. In these 3 years, the coach has called up 76 players, fielding 65, including 32 rookies. Bonucci is the most used footballer (24 appearances, 1,970 ‘out of 2700’ total), 26.5 the average age of his typical formation.
The next matches for the Azzurri include two friendly tests with San Marino (Sardegna Arena, Cagliari, 28 May at 8.45 pm) and the Czech Republic (Stadio Dall’Ara, Bologna, 4 June at 8.45 pm). It will be the third challenge in history with San Marino after those of 1992 and 2013, in addition to the unofficial test with Italy Experimental in 2017. Cagliari returns to play after 16 years and it will be the sixth time of the national team in Sardinia, the first in Sardinia Arenà after Amsicora and S. Elia. In the second friendly match, the National team faces the Czech Republic: overall balance in perfect equality: 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats; considering also Czechoslovakia, Italy counts in that case 9 wins to 8, including the one for 2-1 in extra time of the World Cup Final in Italy in 1934, as well as 9 draws.
Curious precedent in 1953: Italy’s 3-0 victory in Genoa on 13 December was the first match of the national team broadcast on TV, with commentary by Carlo Bacarelli. The last friendly before the kick-off of Euro 2020 will be played in Bologna, which hosts the Azzurri for the 22nd time, almost 3 years after the last one in September 2018.
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