Mancini’s at ease with Manchester City ‘Debut’ boys

Posted Thursday, September 15, 2011 by Express.co.uk

Mancini’s at ease with Manchester City ‘Debut’ boys
Manchester City's Yaya Toure won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009

MANCHESTER CITY might be newcomers to the Champions League but, as Roberto Mancini points out, his players are hardly European rookies.

Roberto Mancini’s squad to face fellow debutants Napoli tonight boasts 288 Champions League appearances between them – including two winners of the competition in Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez.

If you include appearances in the UEFA Cup and Europa League, they have a combined experience of 715 games.

Little wonder Mancini was relaxed when asked about how his team would handle the pressure and expectations that come hand-in-hand with Europe’s money-spinning club competition.

In a bid to rub shoulders with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, Manchester City’s fabulously wealthy Abu Dhabi owners have bankrolled a £400million spending spree on players since they bought the club three years ago this month.

Mancini has splashed more than half of it himself and, now the big moment has arrived, their demanding manager is sure his team will not be found wanting.

“It is a very important and special day for this club,” said Mancini. “But we have players with a lot of experience and many of them have played in the Champions League before, so I don’t think they will suffer from pressure.

“Expectation is normal for us now because Manchester City is one of the best teams in England and, I hope, in Europe as well.”

While Mancini is quietly confident of City’s prospects, he is too street-wise to fall into the trap that the late Malcolm Allison made before the club’s only excursion into the old European Cup in 1968.

After pipping neighbours United to the league title the previous season, Allison – Joe Mercer’s outspoken coach – predicted his exciting team, including Franny Lee, Colin Bell and Mike Summerbee, would “terrorise Europe”, only to see them fall flat on their faces at the first hurdle against Turkish champions Fenerbahce.

City have not been back in the competition since and Mancini says his initial target is to navigate his way through a ‘Group of Death’ which includes Villarreal and Bayern Munich and reach the knockout stages.

“In this group there are four teams who can win the group or who can finish in fourth position,” said Mancini. “It will be very hard for every team. At this moment, starting well and reaching the next stage is our target. If you get past the group stage, the top teams in
Europe are waiting and then anything can happen. If we get there, we can talk in February about how far we can go.”

In his playing days at Sampdoria, Napoli enjoyed the best spell in their history, winning two Serie A titles, the UEFA Cup and the Italian Cup in a memorable four-year period, inspired by Sergio Aguero’s father-in-law, Diego Maradona, then at the peak of his career.

A third-place finish last term continued their revival under manager Walter Mazzarri and Mancini will not under-estimate their visit, especially as their stars Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik were all on his transfer radar.

“Napoli are a good team,” said Mancini. “It’s their first match in the Champions League, but you wouldn’t expect a team that has in its squad players like Cavani, Lavezzi and Hamsik to play just on the break.

“I expect them to play football – and good football – as usual. They have some great players and have added other good players over the summer.”

A big night for Mancini will be made even more special by the presence of his father, Aldo, from whom he has inherited his demanding, critical nature.

His dad has made a good recovery after suffering a heart attack last summer – but it has not stopped him telling his son how to do his job. This will be the first time he has been able to watch his son manage City.

“He has always been my biggest critic when I was a player and now I am a manager,” said Mancini.

“He criticised me every time I played. But this is important because, if your father says these things, it means they are true. And for me it is important to improve, always.”

As he spoke, the gales nearly lifted the media marquee off its ropes. Mancini looked up and smiled – no doubt savouring the prospect of City blowing the winds of change through Europe’s established order.