Euro 2020: Roberto Mancini and Gareth Southgate – two worthy men on cusp of continental glory-Sports News , Firstpost

Football teams don’t necessarily have to translate the personal characteristics of their managers on the field. Of course, there are ample examples to prove that certain teams play or played a style of football that is, in a way, an extension of the manager’s personality. The teams of Jurgen Klopp, Johan Cryuff, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Jose Mourinho can be included in this bracket.

But what about Roberto Mancini and Gareth Southgate? The respective mister and gaffer of Italian and England national men’s football teams that will feature in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley on Sunday. The word complicated has been used many times to describe Mancini. When Southgate speaks football or on any other topic, he’s anything but complicated. The teams they manage are certainly opposite to their manager’s personas. Under Mancini, Italy play a direct, possession-based albeit not overtly aggressive style of football. They are uncomplicated on the football pitch; they do simple things right and get the results. Southgate’s England can be messy. Their tactics might be a bit conservative in the era of high press and high lines. But most often than not, they do end up getting positive results.

This is not an exercise to decode and unravel the psyche of two successful football personalities who are on the cusp of taking their teams to European glory. This is just about Mancini and Southgate, their tryst with football, management, and Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Born in 1964, Mancini’s talent made it clear that he would play at the highest levels. After making his senior debut for Serie A at the age of 17 for Bologna, Mancini went to achieve fame and trophies with Sampdoria, the club he joined in 1982. He was a playmaker as well as a regular goal-scorer for his club and later developed into a leader of his team. He played over 500 matches for Sampdoria, winning the Scudetto in 1990-91 along with four Coppa Italia titles and a European Cup Winners’ Cup.

After 15 years at Sampdoria, Mancini left to join Lazio where again he won the league, two Coppa Italia titles, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Cup Winners’ Cup. He stayed with Lazio for four years before ending his career at Leicester City. Though often considered one of the best Italian players of his generation, Mancini has a rocky relationship with the Italian national team. He made his international debut at the age of 19 but ended up playing only 36 games and scoring four times for his country. He never played at a World Cup, missing the chance in 1986 due to issues with head coach Enzo Bearzot. He was there in the 1990 squad but did not feature on the field and again missed the bus in 1994 due to a tussle with boss Arrigo Sacchi.

Current Italy manager Roberto Mancini was among the finest players of his generation. Image: AP

Juan Sebastián Verón once described Mancini as ‘not an easy person’ and ‘complicated personality’. He had multiple feuds with his teammates, it didn’t matter if he was a teenager or a team captain. He was vocal when he thought he had to be and there was no real change in attitude when he went into the management. As a manager, he guided Inter Milan to three consecutive league titles but also made public comments about quitting when the team failed to make progress in the European front, which eventually deteriorated the relationship with the club owner.

He led Manchester City, now under new ownership of wealthy Abu Dhabi United Group, to their first league title in 44 years, piping arch-rivals Manchester United in the 2011-12 season. He was sacked in 2013 after the club’s unimpressive form but before he left the club, Mancini gave quite a few public statements on the club’s backroom staff and had run-ins with players like Samir Nasri and Vincent Kompany. After leaving the club, he said Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiriastain, Manchester City’s chief executive and director of football acted like Judas by talking to other managers about replacing him.

As a player and a manager, Mancini is unique but former manager Sven Goran Eriksson had some kind of influence on him. Mancini was pivotal in hiring Eriksson as Sampdoria coach in 1992 and later when he went to manage Lazio, Mancini followed him first as a player and then became his assistant. It was a successful nine-year relationship.

Eriksson and Southgate crossed paths when the former took charge of the England national team in 2001. Eriksson saw the future manager in Mancini and he predicted the same for Southgate, who impressed the Swede with his thought process and articulation.

“He wants to resolve problems with talks, more than with shouting. It was easy to speak to him. He was never angry or irritated, he was always very polite.

“I could see that he was a thinking man. He thought about the training we did, why we did something in a certain way. You could see that he lived for football. He was very eager to learn and I wouldn’t be surprised if at that time he was thinking of being a manager in the future,” Eriksson said.

Eriksson was in charge of the England team from 2001 to 2006, the period involved two FIFA World Cups and a Euro. This was the England side which had plenty of talent in Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Michael Owen etc. But Eriksson couldn’t make an impact with the ‘golden generation’ of England and the media, pundits and fans turned against the manager’s tactics. In fact, Southgate also criticised Eriksson’s management style in a book he co-wrote with former player Andy Woodman.

Years later, with Southgate came under immense pressure of managing the current crop of England’s golden generation, he regretted the criticism. “I now know how difficult the job he had was… I did also say some things about Sven in the book that were unfair. I now know his style was unique to him, and that’s how he had to be,” Southgate said.

England manager Gareth Southgate. Image: AP

Unlike Eriksson, Southgate has been productive with England. He took them to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and now helped the team to qualify for a major final after 55 years. The English team, with the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Mason Mount, Bukayo Saka, Kalvin Phillips etc is buzzing with attacking talent but Southgate didn’t veer towards the style best suited for the team. He trusted his approach; it was cautious and not beautiful but it was effective. He made the right changes at the right time, be it bold or conservative depending on match situations and it worked. He placed his trust on Sterling, who didn’t have the greatest of seasons coming into the Euro 2020 but he became the most important player for his team. A genuine player of the tournament contender.

Southgate’s status as a player and his managerial history are inferior to Mancini’s. He suffered relegation as a player with Crystal Palace and also as a manager with Middlesbrough. While Mancini became the national team manager after stints with big clubs for more than 15 years, Southgate took charge of England after a not-so-memorable management career. But both of them did change their teams for the better. Mancini took over Italy after they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and oversaw the current 33-game unbeaten run. Southgate took charge after the Sam Allardyce fiasco and now the team is in the midst of a golden period.

Two worthy men will aim to elevate their status in the world of football with a title win on Sunday at Wembley.