On the pitch

My name is Alessandro Faiolhe Amantino, and I was born on 1 August 1980 in Belo Horizonte in Brazil, but everyone know me as Mancini because of my grandmother, who called me mansinho as a child because of my mild-natured and calm character, and because of the great Toninho Cerezo who adapted the word paying homage to another great footballer, the current coach of the Italian National Soccer Team, Roberto Mancini.

I am currently the head coach at Villa Nova, a club in the Brazilian Mineiro Championship based in Nuova Lima, in the state of Minas Gerais, but you will probably remember me for my combativeness in the Italian Serie A in Milan, in FC Internazionale and, above all, in AS Roma where I also had the honour of competing in the Champions League, reaching the quarter-finals on two occasions.

 

 

In fact, my football career began in the city where I was born, in the prestigious Atletico Mineiro, where from 1997 to 2000 I played as a right back. Those were wonderful years, not just for the training, because I also had the satisfaction of winning a couple of championships.

After a year between Portuguesa and São Caetano (where I won another championship) I returned to Belo Horizonte to win fifth place in the classification of top scorers with my 15 goals in the Brasilerao... not bad for a winger!

It was thanks to these performances that the then sporting director of AS Roma Franco Baldini decided to take a chance with me, taking me to the capital of Italy after a year in Serie B with Venice. Here I Fabio Capello, one of the best coaches in football history, who put me on the right wing to replace another Brazilian: Marcos Evangelista de Moraes, better known as Cafu, the strongest winger in the history of Brazil and captain of the national team for half of the 2000s.

It was thanks to him that I earned my Giallorossi shirt, touching the hearts of the fans thanks to a great back-heel goal against the rival Lazio, ending up being not only confirmed, but retained in the following years with Luciano Spalletti, the coach who more than any other contributed to the success of my career as a footballer. Obviously, my thanks also go to the Captain, Francesco Totti, and to his superb assists that more than once allowed me to score a goal.

Starting from 2005, in fact, I experienced marvellous years in which the team, and myself personally, were very successful, winning the Italian Cup and the Italian Super Cup, setting records in Serie A and great victories also in the challenging European UEFA Champions League. I still remember my goal in Lyon in 2007 after an endless series of step overs... what a thrill!

The 2007 season, which began with a victory in the Italian Super Cup against Inter, turned out to be my last in Rome. The following year, in fact, I arrived in Milan at the court of José Mourinho's FC Internazionale, where I got off to a flying start scoring a goal in the away match in Athens in the Champions League.

It was a year of professional growth, but I was not always a regular on the pitch, nevertheless, I took advantage of the coach's international caliber to learn a lot about leadership in the locker room. This is why I spent the second half of the 2010 season on the other side of Milan, with the Rossoneri.

However, a year later, in January 2011, I decided to change scenery and go home after eight wonderful years in Italy. I returned to Atletico Mineiro, and already in April I found the back of the net again. At the end of that year, I made 31 appearances in the championship, the Brazilian Cup and the South American Cup, which allowed me to get back in shape for the following year, 2012, when the team won the Mineiro Championship.

Finally, in 2013, I decided to terminate my contract and go to Villa Nova, where I am still working as Head Coach.