Player: Roberto Mancini
Nationality: Italy
Position: Forward / Attacking midfielder
Club (noted): U.C. Sampdoria
- Full name: Roberto Mancini
- Date of birth: November 27, 1964
- Place of birth: Iesi, Italy
- Height: 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Career highlights with Sampdoria:
- Joined Sampdoria youth and broke into the first team in the early 1980s.
- Key player in Sampdoria’s most successful era (1980s–early 1990s).
- Helped Sampdoria win their first and only Serie A title in 1990–91.
- Won multiple Coppa Italia trophies with the club (1984–85, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1993–94).
- Reached the European Cup final in 1991–92 (lost to Barcelona) and the Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1989–90 (won the competition in 1989–90).
- Was Sampdoria’s top scorer and creative leader for many seasons; known for vision, set-piece ability, and finishing.
Club career (summary):
- Started at Bologna (debut) and moved to Sampdoria where he became a club legend.
- Later played for Lazio (where he also enjoyed success), Leicester City, and Fiorentina before retiring.
International career:
- Italy national team caps: 36 (1984–1994)
- Goals for Italy: 4
- Member of Italy squads at Euro competitions and the 1990 World Cup (hosted by Italy), where he finished third.
After playing:
- Became a successful manager, notably winning Serie A with Inter Milan (three consecutive titles) and guiding Manchester City to their first Premier League title in 2011.
- Also managed Galatasaray, Zenit Saint Petersburg, and the Italy national team, winning UEFA Euro 2020 with Italy.
Legacy: Roberto Mancini is regarded as one of Sampdoria’s greatest-ever players, a creative forward with prolific scoring at club level, and later a top-level manager who achieved major domestic and international success.