Roberto Mancini is appointed as the new manager of Manchester City after the club sacked Mark Hughes. The former Inter Milan coach will be unveiled tomorrow and Khaldoon al Mubarak, the club chairman, said: "Roberto is a hugely experienced manager with a proven track record of winning trophies and championships." The announcement came just hours after City had beaten Sunderland 4-3 in the Premier League.
Mancini, 45, has been out of work since being sacked by Inter in May 2008. He won back-to-back league titles and two Coppa Italia's with the Italians and has also previously coached Fiorentina and Lazio. Al Mubarak said that it was a difficult decision to dismiss Hughes, but targets had not been met. The Welshman, who was appointed in 2008 before the takeover by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, led the team to a 10th-place finish in his first season in charge and has endured a topsy-turvy campaign this time.
Yesterday's win left City in sixth place and they have a Carling Cup semi-final date with Manchester United to come. But eight league draws and inconsistent performances caused consternation following a £200 million-plus (Dh1.19bn) outlay on players. In a statement, al Mubarak added: "A return of two wins in 11 Premier League games is clearly not in line with the targets that were agreed and set. Sheikh Mansour and the board felt that there was no evidence that the situation would fundamentally change.
"This is a particularly difficult announcement given the personal investment over the past 15 months on all sides and we would like to put on record our respect for and thanks to Mark Hughes and we wish him the best in his future career." Mancini's first game in charge will be at home to Stoke next Saturday. akhan@thenational.ae
