Mancini’s magic? Changing the culture

THE ITALIANS were always so brilliant defensively, that was why Ian Rush suffered when he joined Juventus in 1986. Teams were only playing with one up front and Rush would always play as the lone striker. I remember marking him and he never had any support. No one would be willing to break forward because there was such a focus on not getting beaten rather than on being creative. Historically, the whole Italian game was built on a defensive culture or catenaccio — which translates as ‘door bolt’. I saw that as a sadness with Italian football; they always had great midfielders but they were conditioned in that culture, particularly away from home. With their vast technical talent, you couldn’t understand why they weren’t allowed to break the lines. It’s taken them over 30 years to get out of that way, that culture. In three years Mancini has evolved the team more than anyone over the past 20 years. Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini are two classic ruthless defenders so Mancini has retained the stability. But Italy are so fluid in midfield when they wouldn’t have been before. The transformation has been unbelievable. He took over three years ago when Italian football was at its lowest ebb. Under Mancini (right) they have changed with the times. He has managed in Italy, Russia, Turkey and England and he has evolved too. He has seen that you have to bring that flexibility. He has put together those experiences he embraced in club management and created this model for Italian football. Mancini has built a team in his own identity, how he played the game and how he wants the game to be played. Discipline, professionalism, built on defence, but he has let the handbrake off — that’s the biggest single change.