Run, and never stop

A conversation with Andrea Mancini

Not much hair, imposing figure, green T-shirt. From pitchside, the coach demands more intensity. The wiry striker with messy locks and a yellow bib slips away and gets the ball, but one of his mates calls offside.

On the city council’s Vittorio Del Curto football pitch in Fano, in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Alma Juventus 1906 is training. There is only one month left before the end of the regional second division championship. The team’s aim is to avoid relegation. Karel Zeman, 35, son of Zdenek (who trained the miraculous Foggia, Lazio, Napoli, Pescara, Red Star Belgrade and now Roma) is the coach who took over the team a couple of weeks ago. Andrea Mancini, 19, son of Roberto, is the centre forward who arrived at the end of January 2012 from Manchester City. Two of a kind: for both of them, playing football runs in the family. A great marketing coup, isn’t it?

‘Don’t even mention that,’ says Claudio Gabellini, the president of Alma Juventus Fano. ‘Several factors fell together. On the one hand, I had a good connection with the Mancini family, which is from Jesi, in the Marche region. Andrea wanted to come back to Italy to get more experience of first-team football, and we agreed on a loan until June. Choosing Zeman was a specific decision: I knew the man, and I liked him a lot. He’s proactive, harsh but fair and tactically­ strong. I think he’s very good. Just like his dad, you say? Well, possibly better.’

And Andrea? Is he better than his father? ‘You see, Roberto was playing in Serie A when he was only 16. Andrea might be suffering from this comparison. He needs to cut his teeth. He is still inexperienced.’

The ‘presi’ dashes off, the training session over. Karel hands the team over to the fitness coach for stretching in the middle of the pitch, under an unmerciful sun. Ten minutes later, and the players are off to the showers. Andrea kicks off his white trainers, his name embroidered on them in gold letters. He stares at them. Then, sitting in the shade in the tiny dugout opposite the green artificial turf, he allows himself to talk about his life and his famous father.

Andrea was born in Genova on 13 September 1992, when his father was the standard-bearer for Sampdoria. He supports Lazio, however. ‘When my dad wore the Sampdoria shirt, I was too young to realise what was going on. I started attending football matches when I was five, and at that time he was playing for Lazio. Then, when he was coaching the white and blue team, I followed him. I fell in love with the supporters, and those colours stayed in my heart for ever.’

The passion for football does run in the family. It was shared by his father and his grandfather before him, a living football bible. ‘My grandfather has been watching football for 60 years. He is the real expert, and he is always free with advice. And tellings-off, too,’ adds Andrea, who, like his brother Filippo, two years his elder, made football his chosen career. Filippo trains with the City reserve team, waiting for an opportunity with another club. Andrea grew up in the junior football teams of Inter Milan and Monza; then, just like his dad, he moved to the junior team in Bologna. He came to the city of the Two Towers in the summer of 2009, and the following year he played in the Viareggio tournament – ‘a great experience, there were teams from all over the world.’ In September 2010, he flew to Manchester to join his father’s City team. Other than a short loan spell with Oldham Athletic, where he went with Luca Scapuzzi, another young player from the City youth team, in November 2011, he stayed in Manchester until his adventure with Alma Juventus.

Why here, only a stone’s throw from Jesi, where your father was born and your grandparents still live?

‘I chose Fano because it has a history behind it. It is a reliable club, which provided me with a valuable and solid future perspective. I knew it would help me grow, and that’s why I came here from City, on six months’ loan. That meant saying no to other offers, too, offers from other teams playing in the Greek, English and Portuguese top flights – not convincing enough, though. There is a new coach here now, Karel. He is young, very competent, you can tell he’s got ideas and he knows how to put them across to the team. He is changing the players’ mentality. You must keep your head down and work hard, and in the end, we’ll take stock.’

Where did you learn to play football: from your father, with Inter Milan, Bologna, City, or here?

‘Everywhere, more or less. I always had coaches teaching me an awful lot. I could also say that it helped me that I was older when I came to Manchester City, because it meant I had the chance to train with the first team. This is something that helped me grow – when you are training with champions like Agüero, De Jong, Balotelli, Yaya Touré, David Silva, you just live and learn.’

Who impressed you most in the City team?

Young Andrea thinks about it. ‘It is hard to name one person. They are all great players. Take David Silva, for example. He could be up for the Ballon d’Or. He’s a fantastic player, and his masterstrokes – well, I have seen them even in training sessions, you would never believe how that guy does it. He’s from another planet. He’s on the same level as Xavi and Iniesta. But if I really had to pick a player from Man City, I would say Tévez.’

The one who was questioning your father’s judgement, who was waging war against the club for months.

‘Yes, but when El Apache takes the field, he is really impressive with his strength, technique and commitment.’

And what about your father? What did you learn from him?

‘Back-heels.’

So you really scored a goal like Roberto Mancini’s, in that famous Parma v. Lazio game?

Andrea jokes about this, and laughs it off. ‘No, I didn’t … still, my dad taught me so much. He has been coaching for years, and he cares about me deeply – this is the reason why he has always given me good advice, telling me where and how I can become a better player. I believe I have learned a lot from him, just like the players who were under his management have. This is because I was always one of the players on the pitch, and never his son.’

The best advice?

‘Run, and never stop. Always give 110 per cent on the field, because football is about physicality and running. And if you want to play at a certain level, you really must put in the effort. Technical skills and talent are not enough. This is what my dad and my grandfather keep telling me.’

Just how hard is it to be Roberto Mancini’s son, in the world of football?

‘It was hard, at the beginning. When I was a boy and I started to play, I was always compared to him – and he is one of the best players and strikers ever … this wasn’t good for me, because I’m Andrea, and he’s Roberto Mancini, two different people. Little by little, I got used to it. Now what people say goes in one ear, and out of the other.’

Is your father, for you, an example to follow?

‘Of course he is. For all he has done and for all he has achieved, both as a player and as a coach. However, [as far as role models go] I also appreciate Antonio Cassano very much.’

For his one-liners?

‘No, for the way he plays! In my opinion, he is technically one of the strongest players in the world. He’s got style to spare, and he’s got the body to match. Low centre of gravity, strong legs, good reading of the game, both imagination and genius. I can see myself in him, a little.’

So, what are the main qualities for a second striker or a centre forward?

‘The last forward pass and kicking a goal.’

And Roberto Mancini’s main qualities, as the Manchester City coach? Your opinion as a footballer, not as his son – that goes without saying.

‘To be quite honest, I think he did a good job at the Citizens. In three years, he took the team to levels that could not even be imagined until recently. Don’t forget that, before Mansour bin Zayd Al Nahyan stepped in, City were a team halfway down the Premier League, and they hadn’t won any trophies for years and years. Sure, there has been a lot of money put into the project, a lot of great players brought in, but it’s not easy to create a good team, even with great names. It takes time, and my dad is succeeding.’