Surprise! Roberto Mancini Trains Saudi Arabia After Leaving The Italian National Team, The Pay Is IDR 1.4 Trillion
JAKARTA - Roberto Mancini surprised the public by leaving his position as coach of the Italian national team two weeks ago. He surprised again with the news that he was coaching the Saudi Arabian national team.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation have announced the Italian as their next coach via an online video on social media. Mancini is reported to have signed a contract worth £ 77 million (around IDR 1.4 trillion) for three years.
He will be unveiled in a lavish ceremony in Riyadh on Monday, August 28, local time, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport.
His first match as coach of Saudi Arabia will be against Costa Rica in a friendly match at St James Park, 8 September.
Four days later, The Green Falcons will face South Korea in the international break. Then, he will face 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Cambodia or Pakistan in their opening group game.
The Gulf nation qualified for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups but was eliminated in the group stages on both occasions. However, they pulled off an impressive 2-1 win against last year's World Cup winners Argentina in the group stage.
Mancini is the latest high-profile figure to leave for Saudi Arabia. Previously, Steven Gerrad also continued his coaching career there.
Meanwhile, from the ranks of players, there are well-known names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Neymar.