Roberto Mancini has left Inter Milan by mutual consent just 12 days before the start of the Serie A season.
Mancini, 51, has been in charge at the San Siro since November 2014 but after a tumultuous preseason campaign which saw his side suffer several heavy defeats the former Fiorentina, Lazio, Galatasaray and Manchester City manager has departed.
[ MORE: Mourinho hails Pogba ]
In his only full season in charge of Inter Milan this time around -- Mancini coached Inter from 2004-08 before he joined Man City, winning three Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia’s -- he had them top of Serie A at the halfway point in 2015-16. But after the winter break they fell away badly and ended up finishing in fourth place, missing out on qualification to the UEFA Champions League.
Inter released the following statement on their website on Monday:F.C. Internazionale Milano announces that it has reached an agreement for the termination of the contract with the coach Roberto Mancini. The company would like to thank Roberto for his work since he accepted the post in November 2014.
Last season the team was leading the Serie A until the winter break, finishing the season in fourth place and qualify directly to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. We wish to thank Roberto for his commitment and professionalism demonstrated against the Club in the last 20 months of work.
In his time in charge of Inter he had a win percentage of just over 47 percent but did turn things around after arriving midway through the 2014-15 campaign. That said, a sensational collapse towards the end of last season coupled with shambolic defeats to Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and others in preseason proved that Mancini’s squad was under prepared and both he and Inter have recognized that.
Perhaps the biggest issue with Inter is that they are to heavy. Mauro Icardi, Stevan Jovetic, Ivan Persic, Eder and Ever Banega all represent mercurial attacking talents but Mancini has struggled to get the balance right in preseason and that cost him his job.
Who will replace Mancini?
It is believed Dutch coach Frank de Boer will be named as Inter’s new manager shortly, as the former Ajax coach is currently available after leaving the Amsterdam giants at the end of last season. In his five seasons in charge of Ajax he delivered four titles, yet he decided to move on and take on a fresh challenge.
At Inter he will get that as the three-time European champions have lofty ambitions and demanding owners. It is one of the biggest clubs in Europe and Mancini could not wake it from the slumber it has been in since Jose Mourinho departed in 2010.
