Inter coach Roberto Mancini must be wondering what the soccer world is coming to following his sacking after three consecutive Italian league titles (2006 to this year) and two Italian Cups (2004 and 2005) in four years. Portugal's former Porto and Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho is set to take over the Inter hotseat in the meantime.
The 43-year-old Mancini, who is the frontrunner for the vacant Chelsea job, was the most successful Inter manager since the legendary Helenio Herrera in the 1960s and got rid of their mantle as constant “losers,” since before Mancini they had not won since 1989. However, Mancini was unable to make Inter into viable Champions League contenders despite the three Serie A titles, of which only the last one was really won on merit.
The first one came in the wake of the match-fixing scandal and the second was brought about after the heavy points deductions or demotion of their main rivals. Mancini’s record just was not good enough for club president Massimo Moratti.
PHOTO: AFP
It was the Champions League that the Nerazzurri president had his eye on at any cost, a trophy the club have not won since consecutive European Cup wins in 1964 and 1965.
Though Mancini had supporters amongst the players, he was not considered the man to take the club into the future, mainly because the last two seasons he was only able to take the club to the last 16 of the Champions League.
The previous two seasons, in 2005 and 2006, he did a little better, taking Inter a round further into the quarter-finals on both occasions. Defeat to Liverpool had been felt bitterly at the club this season and Mancini had announced his departure at the end of the season minutes after the end of the second leg.
Though Mancini denied it the following day, saying that he had spoken in the disappointment of the moment, the club did not hesitate to recall the situation in their statement on Thursday.
Perhaps Mancini can console himself with the consolation of 24 million euros (US$37.3 million) in compensation thanks to the length of his contract, which linked him to them till 2012.
The man-of-the-moment is considered by Moratti to be Mourinho — or “The Special One” as he has been dubbed — and according to the Italian press, he should be installed officially as coach in the next few days.
The big advantage of Mourinho is his track record with major clubs, winning the 2004 Champions League with Porto and taking Chelsea to two Premiership titles.
Midfielder Frank Lampard, Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba or defender Ricardo Carvalho of Portugal, all Chelsea players close to their former coach, have been touted as possibly making the move to the San Siro to join up with their old boss.
The other transfer operation concerning Inter could see their Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic moving to Barcelona in a swap deal with Barca’s Cameroonian front man Samuel Eto’o.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS