Mancini went from hero to zero in Italy with controversial cash-driven betrayal

It ended with an email and began with a betrayal. When Italy return to Wembley for the first time since their triumph over England in the final of Euro 2020, they will do so without a familiar face now tainted by controversy.

Roberto Mancini, the former Manchester City manager who led Italy to glory, is no longer at the helm. He announced his resignation in August and two weeks later was revealed as the new coach of Saudi Arabia. Both decisions sparked surprise, fury and confusion in his homeland. Not just in what he had done but also how he did it.

Mancini, after five years in charge, resigned via email while on holiday. His wife, a lawyer, had phoned the president of the Italian federation Gabriele Gravina to tell him her husband was unhappy and hinting something could happen. The next day, a Saturday night, Gravina received the notification in his inbox.

What bewildered those in Italy was that Mancini, just two weeks earlier, had agreed to a bigger role. He would oversee the Italian youth teams, too, from the Under-19s up to the senior team. The staff to support him were put in place.

And then he was gone. Mancini claimed things were not like they used to be. That he had lost the trust of the federation. They had had the disappointment of failing to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

He was unhappy, too, with the appointment legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, a player Mancini had replaced as No1 with Gianluigi Donnarumma, as the head of delegation, a role previously held by Mancini’s late best friend Gianluca Vialli. He denied, too, the swirling rumours of the Saudi millions. Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport did not hold back.

‘Mancini has no excuses, he can’t run away from the national team,’ wrote