According to Mediaset, Cesena's sporting director Andrea Mancini recently gave an interview to Corriere della Sera, discussing his father Roberto Mancini's excitement about returning to coach the Italian national team and the new goals of the new manager.
"He wants to win the World Cup." After Roberto Mancini returned to the Italian national team as coach, Andrea said that his father always longed to lead the Azzurri back to the top of the world and lift the World Cup trophy.
“He’s always had this idea, and he’s always told us this. He wants to come back and let Italy feel that joy again. When he said this during the European Championship, many people thought he was crazy, but later it really happened,” Andrea said. “It may be too early to talk about this now, but it’s right to dare to dream, because sometimes dreams really do come true. I want to send him my sincerest blessings, and I believe he will do very well.”
This return also signifies the start of Mancini's second stint as manager of the Italian national team. Andrea stated that his father is starting afresh with strong motivation, hoping to change the past regrets.
"He's back, with tremendous motivation. He wants to erase the disappointment of Italy missing out on the World Cup three times in a row, and he also hopes to change some of the negative impressions he left when he left the national team."
Regarding the controversy surrounding his departure from the Italian national team to coach the Saudi Arabian national team, Andrea stated: "Controversy has always existed and will always exist. Those who work in football must accept this. It's impossible to please everyone, whether in life or in football. Ultimately, the only true standard of judgment is performance on the field; that is the sole referee in football."
Speaking about his father's return, he added, "He's been looking forward to this day for a long time. If you only look at last Thursday or Friday, no one would have thought the return would happen. But that's life; it's always full of changes and unexpected surprises, which is what makes it so beautiful."
Andrea also revealed that Roberto Mancini was not initially a leading candidate for the Italian national team coaching position: "We only realized yesterday that he might become the new head coach. The initial trajectory was completely different. But by the weekend, things changed, and the possibility began to increase. Everything was finalized after Malago officially announced it."
Regarding the changes his father could bring to Italian football, Andrea believes that Mancini will immediately get to work, but more importantly, the entire system needs to be rebuilt.
"He will start working immediately. Time is indeed limited, but he has never been afraid of challenges. However, we must be clear about one thing: one person cannot change the fate of Italian football as a whole. The real issue is to establish a clear development path, make young players the core of the system again, increase investment in youth training, and cultivate more talents. We must catch up with the direction that world football has already taken."
Upon his return, Mancini will also be assisted by the new national team technical director, Ranieri. Andrea spoke highly of this.
“Ranielli’s career has proven everything. More importantly, he is a person with profound humanistic qualities. I believe he and his father can help each other. They will be a successful combination because they have rich football experience and share common values.”
In Andrea's view, his father's biggest challenge is to rekindle Italian fans' love for the national team.
"After missing three consecutive World Cups, the most important task is to get Italian fans to fall in love with the national team again. Italy should stand with the world's strongest teams again and rediscover the emotions that belong to the national team. It must find that magic again—the feeling it created when it led the team to victory in the European Championship."
