Gianluca Vialli admits he ‘did not expect’ Roberto Mancini to become a great coach when they were strike partners at Sampdoria.

They are now working together again for the Italy squad going into Euro 2020, with Vialli as a director and Mancini the CT.

“Roberto is a great coach, which I honestly did not expect when we were playing together!” said Vialli during primetime TV special Notte Azzurra.

“He has created a wonderful atmosphere of confidence and trust in the players, and when a player feels the coach has faith in him, he can walk on water.

“That’s not all, because Roberto also knows how to instil discipline at the same time.”

There were video clips of their many goals scored together for both Italy and Sampdoria.

“We met 35 years ago and are not just friends, but brothers. We did extraordinary things at Samp, then the rapport consolidated even after we took different paths.

“Friendship helps you to work better, because you have absolute trust.”

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