Manchester City is without doubt one of the best clubs in the world right now, and especially in England. They are one of the most well-managed clubs, with almost unlimited funding. Building one of the best teams in the world under legendary manager Pep Guardiola who clashed recently with Jamie Carragher, they are simply too good.
But there was a time before the Arab takeover in 2008 when they used to be battling relegation in the Premier League. Former player and now famous pundit Micah Richards has now come out with some stories from the early days of the new era.
Richards exposes mixed emotions among Manchester City players after Mancini’s exit
Roberto Mancini was one of the first managers to deliver huge success to the club, and yet faced a sad ending at the Etihad. He was sacked in 2013 after a disappointing FA Cup final defeat to Wigan Athletic.
Before the news of his departure was made public, Mancini took it upon himself to deliver the news to his players. According to Micah Richards, who played right back for Manchester City between 2005 and 2015, Mancini addressed the players at the Landmark Hotel in London.
Richards spoke about it on the podcast The Rest is Football, he said, “He had a conversation with us and said, ‘That’s going to be me done.'”
Richards went on to describe the mixed feelings of his teammates, with some of them sad and the others happy at the departure of Mancini. “It was weird. Half the table were gutted but the other half were almost cheering. It was absolutely ludicrous. I’m like, the guy has just lost his job and everyone is smiling and joking.”
He added that even the ones who regularly played for Mancini were happy. “The worst thing was… even the ones that were in the team were cheering. It was madness.”
While Richards was obviously on good terms with Mancini, many of his former players admitted that it was difficult to play under the Italian manager, and he fell out with almost anyone.
Manchester City won EPL title under Roberto Mancini after 44-year wait
But despite what the players may feel about the manager, Roberto Mancini was one of the first pillars of success for the post-Arab takeover of Manchester City. Coming to the managerial role in 2009, he is credited with completely building the squad with talented players under a good system of playing.
He won the FA Cup in the 2010–11 season, the first trophy in 35 years for them. In the next season of 2011–12, he will win them their first Premier League title ever and the first league title after 44 years. The league trophy was won in the last seconds of the season, when Argentine forward Sergio Aguero won the last game with a last-minute goal that has been immortalized since.
However, he will be sacked the following season, not due to his team’s performances but due to his increasingly distant relationship with the management and even the other staff of the club. He was also said to not be giving youth players any chance, which the hierarchy of the club wanted to enforce.
Mancini recently also won the Euros with Italy in 2021 but left this year. He is now the manager of the Saudi national team.
Mancini will always be remembered by Manchester City and it’s fans for bringing them their first success in many years and for building the foundations for the future as well.
