Whoever lands the job will be expected to take on the enormous challenge presented by serial winners Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel at Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea respectively. There is no hiding from that.
Mancini won three successive Serie A titles with Inter Milan and Euro 2020 with Italy last summer in addition to that Premier League title with City when they pipped United on goal difference. He knows England, he knows Manchester and he knows how to get over the line.
There are question marks and clear obstacles, though. Italy could qualify for the World Cup via the play-offs in March and, at that stage, trying to extract Mancini may become too costly and difficult an enterprise. He is contracted to the Azzurri until 2026.
Having passed on another Italian, Antonio Conte – the former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus coach, now in charge of Tottenham – in part because they felt he came with too much baggage, will United chiefs ultimately decide that Mancini is not worth the headaches either? Still, there is an inherent danger in clinging too heavily to the memory of Mourinho, who was destructive in a way very few are, and no one who works with elite managers, including Guardiola, Klopp and Tuchel, can expect an easy ride. They are all challenging in their own ways.
Those who know Mancini say, at 57 and with over two decades of experience in management, he is less volatile than the firestarter City encountered and is better at managing up as well as down. Italy were in their biggest hole for half a century when he took over in May 2018 and revitalised the country’s appetite for the national team with a bold, inclusive, open-minded approach.
Experience was harnessed, youth promoted, opportunities given to those yet to make a name for themselves and the conservative style of the past diluted in favour of more stylish football that earned the moniker “tika-Italia” but still retained the defensive rigour for which Mancini is well known.
United may eventually resolve he is not for them but his credentials are worth the consideration.
