- Roberto Mancini has ruled himself out of the running for the Italy vacancy
- The Zenit Saint Petersburg manager insisted he is very happy working in Russia
- Italy are on the hunt for a new boss to replace the sacked Gian Piero Ventura
- And Mancini has emerged as a potential candidate along with Carlo Ancelotti
- But he isn’t thinking about it and has his sights set on winning the Russian league
Zenit Saint Petersburg manager Roberto Mancini has ruled himself out of the running to replace the sacked Gian Piero Ventura as Italy boss and insisted he is happy in Russia.
Ventura was removed from his post as Italy’s manager after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 following their play-off defeat to Sweden.
And Mancini, the former Manchester City and Inter Milan tactician, has emerged as an early candidate to succeed him along with compatriots Carlo Ancelotti, Fabio Capello and Fabio Cannavaro.
Zenit Saint Petersburg manager Roberto Mancini has ruled himself out of taking the Italy job
However, the 52-year-old has no plans to leave Zenit, where he took charge in June.
‘I am not surprised my name has been mentioned on the list, seeing as they also discussed colleagues with experience who won in various different countries,’ Mancini told Match TV.
‘But I am happy at Zenit and in St Petersburg, so I am not thinking about the Nazionale.
Gian Piero Ventura was sacked as Italy boss after failing to qualify for next year’s World Cup
‘My objective is to win the Russian league title.’
Mancini, whose Zenit are second in the Russian Premier League and three points adrift of Lokomotiv Moscow after 16 games, added: ‘Like many of my fellow countrymen, I dreamed of seeing Italy at the World Cup in Russia. Seeing them crash out gave me tremendous sadness.
‘I was born after 1958, the last time our team failed to qualify for the World Cup, so I didn’t know what it meant to not be there. Now I can admit it feels surreal and extremely sad.’