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BREAKING: Mancini set to start "new Balotelli" Manaj against Juve
Well-versed in the art of making last-minute changes, the former Manchester City gaffer would not be a fish out of water at the poker table, as he is especially prone to taking risks on big occasions, and this game is certainly that.
Remember when Il Mancio started Kily Gonzalez in the infamous second leg of the Nerazzurri’s quarter-final clash with Milan in the 2004 Champions League?
This game could have a huge impact, both material and psychological, on both teams. Inter have the unique opportunity to put eleven points between themselves and the Bianconeri, a reversal of fortune that the Blue side of Milan has been desperately craving for a few seasons now.
Moreover, Mancini would want to let the whole league know that his team is a true contender, not a side that lucked into single-score wins and that showed its true colours in the 4-1 embarrassment at home to Fiorentina.
Having paid the price for his 3-5-2 experiment against Fiorentina, the coach from Jesi is still choosing to rest Stefan Jovetic, who isn’t 100% despite being spared by Montenegro.
Even more sensational, however, is the gaffer’s choice to promote 18-year-old Rei Manaj from the bench, when the latter has only played a measly 25 minutes of Serie A action so far.
Manaj’s possible start would have a poetic element to it, too, as Inter beat Juventus to signing the 18-year-old. What does this say, however, about Adem Ljajic? A wonderful supersub for Roma last season, the Serbian has disappeared in a cloud of smoke at the Giuseppe Meazza.
It is reported that Mancini has a soft spot for Manaj, and sees him as a worthy successor to Mario Balotelli. He thinks the former Cremonese player has both the genius and the bravery that made Super Mario an instant celebrity when (guess who?) Mancini started him during the 2007/8 season.
Remember how that one went? Balotelli helped a magnificent Zlatan Ibrahimovic bundle Inter over the line, just as Luciano Spalletti’s Roma looked set to pip them like it was the 5th of May, 2002, all over again. Nobody talked about Mario’s age then. Well, not for a while, anyway…
