Mancini and the spectre of Mourinho

Mourinho looms large over the footballing world at the moment - bigger than clubs, more ambitious than any player, he is swiftly becoming the most powerful force in world football. Little wonder then that his name becomes entangled in the midst of one of the world's most ambitious football clubs. For Roberto Mancini, his successor at Inter will be on his mind more than most.

Mancini has been at pains this season to make sure his achievements at Inter are not lost underneath the supreme success of Jose Mourinho. Asked if he built the foundations of the team, Mancini said he also 'built the roof.' Whilst to some he seems to be claiming a slice of Mourinho's success, he is probably just making sure that his significant achievements don't go forgotten. Before Mancini's first Inter title (amongst the Calciopoli scandal), Inter had gone 17 years without winning the Scudetto - which for a club of Inter's size is remarkable (the longest 'barren' spell in their history since they won their first title in 1910). Inter have won every title since, including the following two under Mancini. On top of this, Mancini's first of two Coppa Italia triumphs was the club's first for 23 years. After 17 years without a domestic trophy of any description, Mancini was hired by Moratti for his record of success and he delivered instantly with seven trophies in four years.

It is true that two of Mancini's title campaigns benefited from the Calciopoli scandal (Juventus were stripped of the title in 2005-2006, and subsequent points deductions reduced the competition in 2006-2007), but it cannot be argued that Mancini didn't re-establish Inter at the top of the Italian game. Mourinho was brought in to take them to the next level - the European success that Moratti wanted - and he obviously succeeded. Yet out of the Champions League starting eleven, five were players who arrived under Mancini: Julio Cesar (from Flamengo), Maicon (from Monaco), Esteban Cambiasso and Walter Samuel (from Real Madrid), and Cristian Chivu (from Roma). These players represent the defensive heart of the team and Mourinho has built his team around this solidity - adding the guile and creativity of Milito and Sneijder, in particular, to produce the ruthless side capable of unpicking the world's best. So whilst Inter's recent success belongs to Mourinho, Mancini deserves credit for putting the club back to winning ways and creating the foundations (and the roof!) for success.

Mourinho continued to haunt Mancini after his arrival at City. The current City fans can probably be cut roughly into the following categories: the grateful, the disillusioned, and those bloated by the club's quick ascent (most of us are probably guilty of all three!). It is the last category that push Mourinho into this scenario (albeit with a lot of help from the press). Despite Mourinho's unwavering ambition to complete a footballing grandslam, a minority of fans still thought Jose should be the man replacing Hughes. Although the constant rumour mills often distort the type of people interested in coming to City, we are still a growing force and, whilst Mourinho could be interested when he makes his final prophesised return to English football, he was never going to take a step back amidst his run for global domination and footballing immortality.

I know that some of the calls for Mourinho were born out of frustration over Hughes' exit - the feeling that if we are getting rid of Hughes we should be replacing him with the world's best. But now, with Mourinho ready to move onto his next stage, Mancini can finally settle down to do what he has needed to do from the offset: build the team he wants and prepare himself for what lies ahead.