Roberto Mancini deserves more praise for the work he did with Italy, which was shown in the way he turned Arsenal’s Jorginho into a Ballon d’Or nominee.
That’s according to the ever-outspoken Antonio Cassano, who has somewhat laid into the Arsenal man in the process of praising Mancini.
Mancini made the surprise decision to leave his job as Italy manager earlier this year, resigning from his position to take up a position with Saudi Arabia.
It brought an end to a five-year spell as the manager of his country that had seen him win the European Championships but also fail to qualify for the World Cup.
The reaction to his departure has been something of a mixed one, with some keen to praise him and some questioning whether he was ever as good as others would suggest.
Cassano falls very much into the fan category and has praised the 58-year-old today, explaining that the work he did with Arsenal’s Jorginho shows just how good he was for his country.
“Mancini performed a miracle. Before him we were mediocre but then he made many players believe they were stronger than everyone else,” he said.
“At a certain point in Italy there was talk of Jorginho as the Ballon d’Or winner. Do you realise? A footballer who struggles to kick and assist, without running or physique.
“He doesn’t play at Arsenal because they signed Rice. It’s not like they have Xavi and Iniesta. In Italy we made him a champion.
“Then, remember when I talked about Verratti? One of the best coaches in the world arrived at PSG and kicked him out.”
