Roberto Mancini uncorks the red wine to shake up Manchester City diet

Posted Thursday, January 14, 2010 by theguardian.com

Roberto Mancini uncorks the red wine to shake up Manchester City diet
Roberto Mancini wants his Manchester City team to change their diets in order to be more successful on the field.

Roberto Mancini has revealed that he is aiming to shake up his players' diets at Manchester City by adding Italian favourites such as pizza to the menu, served with a glass of wine.

Hailing from a culture where alcohol is sipped at mealtimes instead of necked at speed in pubs and nightclubs, Mancini will seek to show his squad how a decent glass of red can perk up their pre-match meals and improve performance.

"I will calmly make corrections to what they eat before matches," City's manager told the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport. "You need more chicken, pizza, carbohydrates. As well as a glass of wine, which isn't being served."

Fabio Capello has told England's players to drizzle olive oil over a Mediterranean salad instead of squeezing ketchup over a plate of chips. But Mancini's plans come as more of a surprise. Another Italian, Gianluca Vialli, famously gave his Chelsea players a glass of champagne in the dressing room before his first match in a charge – a 3-1 victory over Arsenal – but it rare for players to be encouraged to consume alcohol.

Mancini's touch has worked to perfection at City so far, though. The team, who play Everton at Goodison on Saturday evening, have won all four of their matches since he took over and he believes he has improved the side he inherited from Mark Hughes and sees a bright future.

"I have given City more balance and a greater sense of conviction," he said. "The potential is incredible, but you need to draw it out. And the road ahead is long." He added that he was relishing the "challenge" of playing against "immortal" sides such as Liverpool and Manchester United, City's opponents in the Carling Cup semi-final this month.

Mancini, who also admitted that his long-term ambition is to move back to Italy to take over the national team, said that he had been struck, since his move to City, by "the incredible fans, very strong players and a well-organised club".

After finding himself "in a completely different world", the former Internazionale coach said he had been working 24-hour days to make the switch to English football. Mancini noted that he had been given a warm welcome in England by fellow expatriate Italians Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Di Matteo and Gianfranco Zola. However, his relationship with Capello, described yesterday by one Italian insider as "mutual, silent hatred", does not appear to have improved. "No, I haven't heard from Capello," he said of the England coach.

Asked about his ambitions, Mancini did not rule out an eventual return to Serie A, where he coached Fiorentina before winning three league titles with Inter. "What seems impossible today may happen tomorrow. Inter, Milan, Juventus, Lazio, Roma, who knows?" he said. "One day I would like to coach the national side, or a national side. But right now, and for many years to come there is only City."

Having moved into a hotel, Mancini plans to bring his wife to Manchester permanently next season, Corriere dello Sport reported, adding that Mancini dedicated City's 4-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers that took them to fourth place in the Premier League on Monday to his father.

Mancini said he had held six or seven tactical discussions with his players since taking over three weeks ago, and singled out Carlo Tevez, scorer of a hat-trick against Blackburn, as an "extraordinary striker, serious and deadly on the field".

He added that the unsettled forward Robinho "only needs tranquillity and goals. If he wants to win he has found the right team and despite the rumours he has not told me he wants to leave."

Mancini said he was glad to leave behind the constant squabbling over fouls and refereeing decisions that dominate discussion in Italy, where pundits pore repeatedly over slow-motion replays.

"Here it is about football and gossip, and not referees, dodgy goals and suspicions," he said. "Every country has its culture and here I see respect among players, even after a bad foul. That is the fascination of English football – the spirit."