Mapping Roberto Mancini's affinity for ex-Yugoslavian football(ers)

One thing that's been on my mind for quite some time now is why Roberto Mancini seems to have an affinity for players that come from the ex-Yugoslavian countries. Though I would not call this an obsession for him, it is clear that his teams are constantly connected to players from these countries (Inter was dubbed "InterIC" during pre-season, before Kovacic left, when most people thought that they'd see all of Kovacic, Perisic, Jovetic, Brozovic on the same team; IC is the usual duo of letters on the tails of surnames of people who come from Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and a little less frequently Slovenia). There's also other players that have been with him across clubs (some of them owe a lot of their development to him) such as Kolarov, Nastasic, Mihajlovic, Stankovic etc. (the last 2 of which are important not only as a product of his interest in Yugoslavian footballers, but also as a cause to it - I will mention them later). He also wanted Stevan Jovetic while he was at City.

Now, I have been given counter-arguments (by my friend Badar Akhtar - @ILPazzinho77 on Twitter) such as that Jovetic and Kolarov were already well known at the point where he wanted them at City, and that Inter's interest in Brozovic (as well as some other Dinamo players who are reportedly on Inter's radar right now) is the product of Inter's good relations with Dinamo, and come down above all to Ausilio's interests rather than Mancini's. He also said that players from ex-Yugoslavian countries are normally cheaper than talents from South American countries would be. And these things hold their water.

But, I'm still quite sure that there are indicators pointing to his abovementioned affinity, and I've finally forced myself into a little "research" today, so I delved into Mancio's past to see what could be the cause. Little did I know that the answers were quite easily discernible, though I would have you know that what I'm writing here is simply based on indications, not on anything he's said or a biography of him (I haven't seen him comment on this anywhere).

Namely, the most obvious (and probably also initiating and most important) influence in this sense probably came from Vujadin Boskov. The legendary coach from Vojvodina led Mancini during the period between 1986 and 1992 at Sampdoria, where Mancini was perhaps the key player. Boskov was a very important part of Yugoslavian football, being one of Yugoslavia's most esteemed people, and especially having led Yugoslavia during the Euros in 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands, and also from 1971-1973 before that. Boskov was Mancini's coach for 6 years!

Another wave of influence surely came from Sinisa Mihajlovic, the current head coach of Milan. Mancio and Mihajlovic are close friends to this day, but they met as players of Sampdoria, where they played together from 1994 to 1997, at which point Mancini departed for Lazio. Mihajlovic followed him there in 1998 and they together until 2001. After that, Mancini became coach of Lazio in 2002 and coached Mihajlovic until 2004, at which point Mancini moved to Inter, only to bring Mihajlovic to play for Inter and coach him until Sinisa retired in 2006. After Mihajlovic retired, Mancini made him his assistant from 2006 to 2008, when Mancini left the club and Mourinho came in. They've worked together for 12 years, and even when they didn't work together they remained close friends.

Another influence, as I've mentioned before, is probably also Dejan Stankovic. Stankovic and Mancini met as players of Lazio, where their stays overlapped in the period between 1998 and 2001. In 2002, Mancini became coach of Lazio, and coached Stankovic. Later, when Mancini became the coach of Inter, he brought Stankovic to the club in 2004 and remained his coach until the departure in 2008. There is also the fact that with Mancini's return to Inter last season, he didn't wait long and re-called Stankovic to the club, making him team manager this summer. That's more than 10 years spent together for the 2, in 2 different clubs.

There is also Alen Boksic, the Croatian striker who played for Lazio. Boksic played for Lazio from 1997 to 2000 (his 2nd stint, having played for them also from 1993 to 1996), so they spent 3 years together with Mancini. I am not aware of any special connection formed between the two during this period, though.

Each one of Boskov, Mihajlovic and Stankovic are influential characters in Yugoslavian football, and each one of them bore the quality of Yugoslavian football culture in a different way. I firmly believe that it brushed up on Mancini as well, and his appreciation is not only visible in the later acquisitions of Nastasic, Kolarov, Brozovic, Jovetic, but especially on the fact that he carries Mihajlovic and Stankovic around with him.

It is not at all weird that Mancini has warmed up to Yugoslavian football culture. Living in one of the countries of ex Yugoslavia (Macedonia), I've personally witnessed some and heard about all other successes that Yugoslavia (and subsequently the countries that remained of it after its tragic dissolution) has noted in football.
Yugoslavia is the home of Red Star Belgrade - a club that won the European Champions Cup in 1991 (on the brink of Yugoslavia's dissolution) v. Marseille, with players such as Vladimir Jugovic (later played for Inter), Darko Pancev (later played for Inter), Robert Prosinecki, Dejan Savicevic and, indeed, Sinisa Mihajlovic.

They've also won the Mitropa Cup twice in 1958 and 1968, and later finished as runners up in the ECC in 1979, the last season of the legendary Dragan Dzajic, among other great players of that time.

Then there's also Croatia's success at the 1998 World Cup in France, where they finished 3rd, eliminating Germany in the quarter finals with an emphatic 3-0 triumph. They lost in the semi finals to host country France, who would later go on to win the tournament, and beat the Netherlands in the 3rd place playoff with 2-1. Croatian striker Davor Suker, who played for Real Madrid at the time, finished the tournament as top scorer with 6 goals scored.

This Croatia team also included legendary Zvonimir Boban, Dario Simic, Robert Prosinecki and current West Ham coach Slaven Bilic.

Other great names that have emerged from the Yugoslavian spaces over the years include Dragan "Piksi" Stojkovic, Predrag Mijatovic, Dragoslav Sekularac, Savo Milosevic etc.

Though clubs from the ex-Yugoslavian countries haven't noted any significant success in recent years, there are a number of players who have broken through the ranks of great names such as Red Star Belgrade (the first club of Nemanja Vidic), Partizan Belgrade (who, by the way, produced Stevan Jovetic), Dinamo Zagreb (Modric), Hajduk Split etc. to go on and become leading names in world football.
Just imagine a united team of Yugoslavian countries today:

And this still leaves players like Begovic, Oblak, Nastasic, Savic, Subotic (even Vidic), Kovacic, Perisic, Ljajic, Brozovic, Tadic, Ilicic, Dzeko... Maybe even Xherdan Shaqiri (who is of Albanian ethnicity and was born in Gjilan, Kosovo, which was at the time still part of Serbia and consequently of Yugoslavia), though he might have still chosen to play for Albania. I could also go with Ibrahimovic... but that's really a long shot, since he was born in Malmo, Sweden (just pointing out that he is of Bosnian descent). :)
In short, it is a team that could easily challenge the very biggest bosses of world football right now.

And who knows, considering how close to his heart Mancini seems to keep ex-Yugoslavia, who knows, maybe if it didn't dissolve, Mancio could have even coached the national team at some point. If only... :) 

Mancio's new Inter paradigm

Well, Mancio is up and running in Milano once again. There's been an air of enthusiasm surrounding his arrival. He's been welcomed as one of our own and the fans seem to have the utmost confidence that he will duly deliver the promise that his future can someday replicate the lavishness of his past.

As we prepare to see Mancio back on the Inter bench for the first time since that Scudetto-winning game against Parma in 2008, there is no doubt that everyone's eyes are aimed at the tactical changes he is about to make in the team. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is the aversion the fans have bred for Mazzarri's 3-5-2 after seeing some torrid performances in that system, especially this season.
Hoping that we will no longer see the pointless continuous back-passes in lack of ideas for going forward, an isolated Icardi in the opposition box begging to get some decent service so he can score etc. I've set out to designate several defining developments that could take place if Mancio's changes are indeed as I've anticipated.

I believe that as most people expect, Mancini will go with 4-3-1-2 (his "rombo", a narrow diamond that he used at Inter last time around, a bit like a 4-1-2-1-2) as one of his trademark formations and one that would more or less suit the players he has at disposal for now. Apart from his usual affinity to this formation, the fact that he used it in his first few training sessions with the squad gives us additional reason to expect a lineup in this structure.

In order to fully explain the reasons why I believe the concrete changes will occur, I will also give a short description of how the system works in principle as I go.

This is more or less (with a couple of fluctuations) the lineup that I expect to see Mancio present on perfect days - ones with no injuries or suspensions. Before I go explaining my anticipation of Mancini's choices, a short explanation about the system itself:

As you can see, there is a shift to a 4-man defense, with a diamond in midfield consisting of one deeper lying (in most cases defensive-minded) midfielder, 2 central midfielders, a single advanced midfielder in the hole between midfield and attack and finally 2 strikers. This is a system that offers good vertical penetration and provides good balance for playing a game based both on possession or on more direct passes. A very good side of it is the fact that it creates numerical advantage in midfield, without sacrificing any of the attacking potential, but one of the system's inherent weaknesses is one that could hurt us in particular, as I will point out later - the lack of wingers calls for the full backs to bomb ahead to provide width. As the full backs penetrate ahead, it is the job of one of the midfielders (the deeper-lying one) to stay further back and provide cover from counter attacks for the defense, until the team manages to retake its defensive shape. It is also a system that necessitates midfielders who are good on the ball, because losing the ball in midfield easily leaves the defense exposed, considering the fact that the full backs are moved in front during the offensive phase.

So, the first development I expect is:

1. We will see a lot more goals and more interesting football.

Yes, I will be expecting Inter's games to produce more goals now that Mancini has arrived (we'll probably score more, but we'll probably concede easily as well, which we've been doing often lately anyway; all in all, less people will fall asleep during the games). The football Mancio's first Inter side adopted was quite attractive as well, and now the fact that we've moved one of the stoppers behind the strikers indicates that we should see a lot more action up front. No more Icardi standing on his own in the opposition box, no more boring passing in our own half (and hopefully no more "long balls" from Ranocchia and his defensive partner in lack of other solutions). 

I did have a few dilemmas in predicting the starters, as I don't know if Mancini will prefer Vidic or JJ alongside captain Ranocchia. Vidic has been a proper menace so far, as opposed to JJ who has impressed me with his grit and bravery (the only player alongside Palacio who gives 100% every single game), but turning to a 4-man defense could be a real game-changer as far as this paradigm is concerned.

... Which brings me to my second point:

2. Vidic - reborn! (his name is Nemanja, he comes from Serbia, he'll f***ing murder yaaaa...)

It doesn't matter if he starts or not, I expect Vidic's individual performances to improve massively under Mancini, not only because of his experience in 4-man defense systems (not to mention the fact that SAF has used this particular formation with United in the past), but also because Mancini would have less problems in communicating with Vidic, being able to speak English himself. I expect Mancini will also be able to better point out the differences between Italian and English football to Vidic (with his substantial experience in both leagues), which I think he desperately needs.

Should Vidic start instead of JJ (and Mancini likes him, tried to snap him up while at Galatasaray, but failed because Ausilio concluded the business swiftly on Inter's part), it would open up a difficult choice for the new coach - should JJ be left on the bench? Seeing as how Ranocchia is captain (and Conte seems to be having a very good effect on him in the national team - was GdS's highest rated player against Croatia) and if Vidic does indeed go through a renaissance - the only other option for Mancio will be to deploy Juan as a left full back. 

Speaking of full backs...

3. Inter's biggest problem will be on the flanks.

Yes, this is by far the most problematic area of the squad should we adopt this system. I'm not sure any of the full backs we currently have are up to such a task. Dodo, Danilo and perhaps even Nagatomo and JJ are decent at best - not complete full backs that you can rely on to that extent which this system beckons. I'm not counting Jonathan there (I've given up on him) and it's much too early to talk of Mbaye. Dodo's got a lot of potential, but he's a liability defensively, JJ's got the problem inverted. I think a lot of work will have to be invested in those positions, no matter who starts on either side. Our full backs can't cross a ball for their lives, and being the only players that provide width to the game, it will be expected of them quite often. I'm quite certain that this area of the squad will be the first one mentioned should Mancini think of reinforcements.

Lucky we don't have any reckless midfield mavericks to lose balls all the time... Oh, wait... 

4. The Guarin conundrum

Now that we've reached midfield... I heard Mancio say in his unveiling press conference that he holds Fredy Guarin in very high regard. He said he could be "key", called him a "great player" and said he would discuss with him his favorite position (also reportedly wanted to bring him to Galatasaray in the past, another indication of high esteem). I think that normally places him in central midfield, because it's the only spot that doesn't have much better fitting players already (Medel is sure to start deep, as his versatility will be useful when he needs to act as a central defender to cover; Kovacic is undisputed up front). What worries me about Guarin is tightly connected to what I mentioned about the requirements of the midfield earlier, in the system "intro". For a system that requires players in midfield who are rational with the ball (because lost balls mean fast counter attacks on an exposed defense), Guarin is an awfully risky choice. He's also very unstable psychologically and his work rate varies greatly due to this. I'd take M'Vila in serious consideration for that spot, at least depending on the opponents, because he is very composed (despite the fact that he won't provide a creative spark as good as Guarin's in attack) and also provides great physicality that allows Inter to win balls further upfield. Seeing as how the midfielders we have are quite versatile and can play in various positions, I'm sure we'll get to see them in a variety of roles, so I won't be surprised to see him as trequartista from time to time, a role that he spent a lot of time working on under Mazzarri. 

And speaking of trequartistas...

5. Mancini will elevate Kovacic to new heights.

This is one of the biggest benefits of Mancini's arrival. He has spoken very highly of Kovacic in the past, calling him the "biggest talent in Europe, a born champion" while Mateo was still in Dinamo. Though Kovacic has already been stellar in our shirt, I expect Mancini to take him to a whole new level. The reason? Mancini is an expert on the trequartista role and Kovacic has all it takes to make it there. Actually, upon receiving his coaching badges, Mancio wrote a thesis about the trequartista role, and having played as one himself, he knows quite a lot about it. He writes in his thesis that the trequartista is an "artist with 360 degree vision, and can create something new and unexpected with a single move". The role demands great mobility and generally allows great creative freedom. Though this is difficult to implement in modern football (having a player that provides little defensive contribution), it's a perfect role for Kovacic.

I've been thinking whether Kovacic should swap positions with Hernanes, because he plays better in more space and Inter could benefit from Hernanes' shooting abilities while not losing too much creative output, but I think that Mancio's expertise in the role combined with his appreciation for Il Professore nudged my decision the right way. Expect him to become the very core of this team.

We should expect a lot of assists from little Mateo, and we also have quite the player to score goals off them...

6. Icardi to leapfrog competition to become Capocannoniere. 

... Don't get me wrong, Mauro has already been exquisite for Inter! He is a predator in front of the goal; a very balanced combination of excellent movement (as pointed out by Mancio himself before he returned), aerial prowess, speed, physicality and above all world class finishing ability. He is currently sitting third on the charts with 7 goals to his name, only 1 goal behind Tevez and Callejon who are tied for 1st place each having scored 8.

The biggest (and perhaps, only) reason Mauro Icardi is not #1 on that list in my humble opinion has been the disgraceful lack of service he'd been victim of under Mazzarri. Walter may have had a positive effect on him as an individual as far as his game is concerned, but one of the most frustrating things about Mazzarri's reign was seeing Icardi all alone up front, receiving 70m long balls from Ranocchia/Vidic/JJ and being left to wait for the rest of the team to come up and help him; receiving barely 1 decent cross from which he can make a proper finish through 90 minutes (which could continue to be a problem, as I've mentioned above) etc. This has to stop, Icardi can be the best striker in Italy by a mile and Mancini needs to look to this.

Apart from Maurito, I am quite confident Rodrigo will come around soon enough and will be back to his best (I have HUGE respect for him). I am a little scared about Osvaldo, who has done well so far and needs to keep up the good work despite the change of coaches.

Having re-read what I've written above, it seems like a very optimistic scenario (a feeling I generally don't emit when speaking of Inter lately). If Mancini can gain control over things in the short time that he's been given and resist the pressure, I expect to start seeing glimpses of what I've written above (it's easier to see these things when there's order instead of chaos). Roberto has a very difficult time ahead and he will need unconditional support for at least a while. I hope that we will see improvements compared to Mazzarri's time (which isn't too much to ask for starters!) and that we finish in a European spot in May. Meanwhile, Thohir has to do all that is possible to keep hold of our best players (and we have several good ones) so that the project may kick off. Mancini has experience in building good teams, and though he hasn't got the budget to build a world class one in a short time, I'm confident he'll set the right foundations.