Roberto Mancini believes Antonio Cassano should have achieved more, but still believes in Mario Balotelli.
The Inter Coach gave a long interview to Tiki Taka, and in the second half of the chat the former striker cast his mind back to his playing career, discussing some other fiery Italians.
“I’ve always studied [Francesco] Totti,” Mancini revealed.
“We were always similar on the pitch. If I’d stayed at Sampdoria [like Totti has done with Roma] I’d have played for many more years.
Roberto Mancini believes Antonio Cassano should have achieved more, but still believes in Mario Balotelli.
The Inter Coach gave a long interview to Tiki Taka, and in the second half of the chat the former striker cast his mind back to his playing career, discussing some other fiery Italians.
“I’ve always studied [Francesco] Totti,” Mancini revealed.
“We were always similar on the pitch. If I’d stayed at Sampdoria [like Totti has done with Roma] I’d have played for many more years.
“Totti is extraordinary and it’s amazing he’s still able to do the things he’s doing.
“Cassano? He’s a player with enormous ability, I know he could have done more. He needed to stay at Real [Madrid] and become one of the best.
“As for Balotelli, [what happened at Manchester City] wasn’t a fight. I told him to be careful because a player [Scott Sinclair] had just come back from injury.
“Obviously he went in badly, and I wanted to pull him away but it was difficult given his physical size.
“Then the paparazzi photographed everything and it seemed like a fight, but it wasn’t. I love him, and every day I hope he can return to being the player he was a few years ago.”
The Coach also discussed his previous spell at Inter, and his sacking which saw Jose Mourinho take the helm and guide the club to an unprecedented treble in his second season.
“It hurt to see Inter winning without me, but [then Inter President] Moratti continued to win, as did I. In the end it was a good thing for both of us.
“I’ve only met [current President Erick] Thohir once, so I can’t judge him as a person. He seems very attached to Inter, but he’s clearly different from Moratti.”