Even her mother is incredulous. “I learned it from my cousin”, “I was surprised too”, emphasizes Marianna Puolo, mother of Roberto Mancini, ousted by his son’s decision to leave the national team. “We never talk about his work with Roberto. Our relationship has always been like this. All that matters to us is that he’s doing well. Now he’s on holiday in France and I haven’t heard from him yet. I’ll definitely talk to him later.” We’ll also try to understand a little more,” he said in an interview with the National newspaper.
“By the way, we talk a lot, but we’ve never talked about the national team. He’s a very honest and generous man, you know that. Roberto is a good person,” he added. “He never really got over the death of Gianluca Vialli. He was very close to him.” “What if something happened to upset him? I really do not know it. In Gianluca’s place, they decided to put someone else (Buffon, ed.) but I don’t even remember who it is. They made the decision a few days later if I’m not mistaken. “What will happen now? I have no idea, I’ll call him and talk to him like I always have. If he wants, Roberto will explain to me why he made this decision and we as parents – he concluded – will always be “close to him”.
As for his future, ‘Mancio’ could become Saudi Arabia’s new coach, according to Arabic sports daily Arriyadiyah. In an article reprinted by Arab News, the newspaper quotes anonymous sources as saying that Mancini could succeed Frenchman Herve’ Renard at the helm of the Sons of the Desert, as the Asian national team is known.
The newspaper reminds that if the news is confirmed, Mancini will become the 49th head coach of Saudi Arabia, the 19th European and the first Italian. The first commitment will be Asia’s qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup from November, in which the Saudis will face Jordan, Tajikistan and one between Cambodia and Pakistan.