Sampthing Special

Mancini and Vialli recreating club glory years together for Italy

- David Anderson

Roberto Mancini claims Italy have the same spirit as his historic Sampdoria side as he targets a return to Wembley.

Manager Mancini helped Sampdoria shock European football as they beat AC Milan’s all-conquering side to win the club’s first Serie A title 30 years ago.

They reached the European Cup final the following season but narrowly lost to Barcelona at Wembley.

Mancini has tapped into the spirit of that great Sampdoria team and Gianluca Vialli, who top-scored in their scudetto winning season with 19 goals, is part of his backroom team with Italy. “We hope that the final result is the same,” said the Azzurri boss. “Of course, that was a team with great spirit, so there are certain parallels between the two teams.